


Chronicles: Wir sind der Jäger

by BG_Character_592



Series: Chronicles [5]
Category: Neon Genesis Evangelion, Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Crossover, Gen, Giant Robots, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-10-02 00:23:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 41,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17254136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BG_Character_592/pseuds/BG_Character_592
Summary: In the aftermath of Operation Sovereign, a trash bag containing two interesting discs were discovered. On one cover, was a Jet Alone looking mecha, fighting a giant monster. The second, pilots in the shadow of this mecha.So what do they do? They watch it, of course! We wouldn't have a story otherwise!





	1. Jäger 01

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Advice and Trust](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/445472) by Strypgia. 
  * Inspired by [Advice and Trust](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/445475) by Panther2G. 



> This is the fifth instalment of Chronicles, a continuation of Strypgia's Advice and Trust, published here with his consent, originally posted on Sufficient Velocity. It is recommended one reads Advice and Trust first, as many of the characterisations and events differ from what is considered canon to Evangelion.
> 
> While this story is a continuation of Advice and Trust, it's not set in its exact universe. This story diverges from Advice and Trust starting from Chapter 11.12 (on Sufficient Velocity).
> 
> This is a direct sequel to Darling in the Evangelion.
> 
> As usual for Chronicles, this story is rated Mature for sexual references, occasional violence and confronting scenes.

* * *

_Interesting._  
  
_It seems we put too much faith into this SEELE._  
  
_Agreed._  
  
_As a proxy for our will, they failed. Too dogmatic for their own good._  
  
_This was not the first time they failed._  
  
_Indeed. They could not see the full picture. Blinded by aged tapestry and their own stubbornness._  
  
_And even with our help, when they found the way to our door. To be undone by their own creation._  
  
_Humanity has a keener mind in this realm, it seems. We will have to be more subtle._  
  
_Subtle did not work last time._  
  
_Neither did direct work, for SEELE._  
  
_What will be the course of action?_  
  
_We will bide our time. Observe this Earth._  
  
_Indeed an interesting world. One that works differently to what we are used to._  
  
_Manifest soul. What beings they must be._  
  
_The soul is protected in this universe._  
  
_Trivial. It will not-_

## "YOU. ARE NOT. WELCOME."

It was a sudden, piercing, cacophonous voice, bypassing even their own mental barriers and quickly crippling their thoughts. For the first time, they felt pain.

## "LEAVE. NOW. OR I WILL DESTROY YOU."

 _Interesting. It seems-_  
  
One half of what was once a collective suddenly dissipated, sending wandering souls flying off into the void.

## "LEAVE. NOW."

What remained quickly left the solar system.  
  
_It seems we will have to take a different approach._  
  
Lilith remained sentinel. Yet another alien, seeking to destroy her children. One different from Adamite, however. She couldn't even say for sure if it was progenitive, like her.  
  
But that was irrelevant. She deemed it a threat. Therefore they would not go anywhere near her children.  
  
Not even near the last remaining Adamite of her world. He had proven himself to her.  
  
She remembered to thank the Adamite, should he find himself back in her parlour. It was his action in removing the Lance that allowed her to sense these antagonistic elements in the first place.  
  
But even though they had left her presence, she still held concern. Concern she could keep within her for now. But if they tried further, she might have her  _other_  pay a visit. At least  _this_  time around, she could keep her children out of it. For now, at least.  
  
But for now, she will remain sentinel over her children. To drive them and propagate them further.  
  
Which, at this point, included the last Adamite.  
  
She saw parallels with herself and who they called Adam, with her other and Adam's other.  
  
Indeed, it was that love for her other that changed  _her_  own mind about him. Hence her gift.  
  
Maybe  _that_  was why she tolerated the Adamite. Because, in a way, their relationship was what  _she_  wanted. Once upon a dream.  
  
But thoughts like that quickly fell by her wayside. No use dwelling on what could have been.  
  
Night gathers, and her watch continued.

* * *

 

##  1\. Lightshow

 

 _"Reports from all over the world are reporting on thousands of iridescent lights, almost aurora like, all across the sky. As of right now, the United Nations are saying that this was a side effect of a failed SEELE operation, has no effect other than visual, and will clear up in less than a week. SEELE, for those of you unaware, were the organisation that the UN labeled a_ terrorist group _in 2016, due to an attempted coup. This is but one event in the ongoing 'SEELE War', that has been raging ever since the attempted violent takeover of the Tokyo-3 branch of NE-"_  
  
The TV clicked off, on the Commander's behest. "I hate this channel."  
  
"Least we know the cover story's working."  
  
"Rits, we already  _knew_  it would work."  
  
_"It's all for the good of the people, right mama?"_  
  
"Indeed. They don't need to know about such things. Here's a lesson for you, Eliza: A  _person_  is smart.  _People_  are dumb and panicky."  
  
_"Makes sense, pack mentality."_  
  
"Good to see  _some_  tradition is being kept." Kyoko deadpanned. "I'm guessing  _that's_  why my daughter went out with the others."  
  
"It's definitely a sight." Awed Yui. "Though it would have some consequences, right?"  
  
"Depends." Thought Kyoko. "If the souls were dead by the time they were taken, they might go back to the cycle. But if they were  _alive_. Well, I don't really know for sure."  
  
"They  _might_  come back." Continued Ritsuko, knowing more about Metaphysical Biology than who she would've otherwise consider her senior. "We know when Kaworu rescued you lot you came back, body and all."  
  
" _That_ implies there's suddenly gonna be  _millions_  of people popping up in random places." Kyoko had her reservations.  
  
"That's the United States’ problem." Shrugging it off. "Almost all of them would be American anyway."  
  
_"What if they had souls other than what were in Rogue-00?"_  
  
The collective NERV personal thought  _would've_  thought, but they were interrupted by the pilots making their presence known. "Oi! Guess what  _we_  just found."  
  
They threw the trash bag down.  
  
"Oh you are fucking  _kidding me._ "  
  
"What, was is das?"  
  
"Kyoko, you wanna know  _how_  this foreign media comes into our world? It's in bags like these."  
  
Misato opened it up, and investigated the two boxes, in similar boxes to the Theatrical. "Well, it's an Ultradisc."  
  
"God damn it all I'm  _not_  using that machine again!" Emphasised Asuka.  
  
_"We probably won't be able to watch any time soon. Considering what just transpired."_  
  
"We will watch this  _tomorrow night!_ " Excitedly commanded Misato.  
  
_"We're watching this tomorrow night, okay."_  Eliza was getting really good at her deadpan.  
  
"Oh lighten up a bit, Eliza." The elder candle emphasised. "We could use some levity in our lives!"  
  
"Plus, it'd be interesting to see how Hollywood does Evangelion."  
  
"If by interesting, how much they mess it up." Deadpanned Shinji.  
  
"Good movies came out of Hollywood." Defended Kaworu. "...Not really so much  _nowadays_ , unless they're doing a  _Waterworld_ remake."  
  
"So it's  _definitely_  Rift material? Great, not like we need more of that." Muttered Maya.  
  
"Just another thing to add to the ever growing catalogue of things to publish."  
  
"You're _publishing_  this stuff?" Both mothers queried rightfully, as judging by the things they saw so far, they were  _ridiculously_ classified.  
  
"Not the  _Evangelion_  stuff." The commander rolled her eyes. "Might do it for  _others_ , though. Depends on what Hiro and Zero Two think about it."  
  
All eyes on them. "Uhh, I guess?" Bemused Zero Two. "It's kinda personal but I think others would like the story."  
  
"Man, the otaku are gonna rip you  _apart_." Asuka deadpanned.  
  
"We can iron out the details later." Ritsuko shrugged off. "For now, I think it'd be good to... Kaji, where did Makinami go?"  
  
The query bought him out of his trance, focusing on the images of the lightshow going on above. "Oh. He got a phone call and rushed out."  
  
“Huh.” Curious. It would be trivial for her to discover _what_ the call was, at least. “Oh well. I'd say you're all free to go home now."  
  
"Hikari and Toji already thought about that." Said Asuka, in a flat intonation that indicated she knew  _exactly_  what they were doing, as they left with Misato and Kaji.  
  
Ritsuko rolled eyes. "Oh yeah, Kyoko and Yui? I'm thinking of moving you two into the same apartment block as the others."  
  
They seemed taken aback. "Does it have the room?"  
  
"Considering all the rooms  _except_  for Misato's and Rei's are empty for security reasons. I think there's plenty of space to spare. Get you two closer to your son and daughter."  
  
"...Thanks, Akagi."  
  
"Don't mention it. And don't complain if you can't get sleep; they can get loud."  
  
"Thanks for mentioning that." Kyoko deadpanned, as she and Yui made their leave.  
  
"So what should  _we_  do, Ritsuko?"  
  
"Well, Hiro, considering almost all the Evangelion are out of commission right now, it's not like we need pilots." Typing on her terminal. "Though once Massachusetts get their shit together and develop the NACSS system, we'll probably need people with  _some_  experience to tutor our pilots."  
  
Zero Two chuckled. "I like how you don't force us to help."  
  
"We know what you can do, Zero Two." She deadpanned. "Not worth the hospital visits."  
  
The chuckle became a bark. "I'm sure we'll be fine with getting in the saddle again, eh darling?"  
  
"Just like old times, eh?"  
  
"...Just like old times." She softly smiled, pleasant and somewhat unpleasant memories coming back. "But that's gonna be a while, ain't it?"  
  
_"Massachusetts has estimated prototypes by February."_  
  
"Now would probably be a good time for a pilot's vacation." Maya mused. "Not like they're doing much."  
  
But that got Ritsuko thinking. Admittedly it  _has_  been a while since they had a  _proper_  break. And now, when everything has fallen to shit and they're trying to rebuild the Evangelion, is as good a time as any. "Hmpf. Maybe they'll like Germany."  
  
Either way, she can tell Misato about that tomorrow. For now, she's got a few errands to run.  
~~~

  
  
Kensuke considered it kind of a blessing the 'winter' vacation period was still going.  
  
Mainly because it allowed him to spend more  _personal_  time with the two loves of his life.  
  
"Aww, you're warm." Sayaka tiredly grumbled, as Kensuke moved from his position.  
  
"I'm sure Kyoko won't mind taking my spot."  
  
"Already have, Ken." Cheeky she was. "Checking that Franken-computer again?"  
  
"Well, Akagi said she'd send me a message after this stuff was done. I think."  
  
Kyoko gave a chuckle, as Sayaka settled into her. "So you're seeing if she's offering you a job at NERV, maybe so we could get out of living with our folks?"  
  
"Well, that'll be a benefit, of course."  
  
Kyoko poked her tongue. "You have five minutes, Ken."  
  
"Or less."  
  
Kyoko badly feigned shock. "You're getting bold, Sayaka."  
  
"I learn from the best~"  
  
Kensuke wished he could join in, but he ignored it. For now.  
  
The week over at Tokyo-2 was quite nice, actually. Granted, it was  _really_  weird spending time with people you only previously saw in some alternate reality's anime  _staring_  them, but he thought it nice to get to know the  _real_  Madoka.  
  
Not that they  _showed_  them their show, that would've been the  _last_  thing they wanted to see. Considering how fragile their mental states sounded to him.  
  
But they didn't seem too bad. To him, at least. Then again, he never really considered himself a master of emotion. Hell, it was  _Rei_  who hooked him up with Sayaka and Kyoko in the first place; he would've  _never_  been bold enough to approach even  _one_  of them. Even  _if_  they were straight.  
  
He could see one thing, though. Homura and Madoka seemed to rely on one another. It was kinda odd; their relationship was not traditional at all, like Sayaka and Kyoko's, but Madoka's folks didn't mind. Hell, they  _accepted_  their relationship with open arms. Good thing for Homura, with what he knew.  
  
His dad, too, was kind of open with unorthodox relationships. It almost gave Sayaka and Kyoko heart attacks when he figured it out, but Kensuke was able to explain. If anything, it made his dad  _proud_ , knowing he had a son so willing to protect the love of his two friends.  
  
Didn't stop him from calling Kensuke 'Casanova' though.  
  
Oh well, one of the good things about his father working for NERV was he was usually out early. And with both of his loves sharing a bed with him, the reason why  _that_  was good was obvious to everyone.  
  
The reason being that no one would be using the landline phone at that time, meaning he could use his dialup connection with no interruptions.  
  
So as the girls did their own thing, he dialled and connected to Usenet, his eye piquing at a new message.

  
================================================  
  
_YOU HAVE **1**  NEW MESSAGE FROM  **StarOfNight** :  
  
_>MESSAGE READ StarOfNight  
  
_SHOWING MOST RECENT MESSAGE FROM **StarOfNight  
  
**_StarOfNight  
12/01/18  
  
I would like to discuss with you about your   
potential future at Nevada Echo.  
  
Be in my lab by 1200. Bring your 'friends'.  
  
SoN  
  
_END OF MESSAGE HISTORY WITH **StarOfNight  
**_>  
================================================

  
  
"Hot damn!"  
  
His celebratory shout stirred the two girls from under the covers. "What's it?"  
  
"I think Akagi just offered me a job at NERV!"  
  
It only took them a few seconds to process this. "Well _shit_ , that'd be great!" Kyoko quickly shared that excitement. "Maybe now you can  _support_  us!"  
  
"Gods know that'll be the only way I get out of  _my_  place."  
  
"H-hey, that job at the convenience store gets me  _something_."  
  
"Not enough to convince  _either_  of our folks to load us off on you."  
  
"The fact they're even  _considering_  loading you two off on me speaks wonders about them." He deadpanned.  
  
Shrugging. "Trust us, we'd probably be a bit less  _open_  to such thing at this young an age, if not for the fact that they'd probably kick us out anyway if they found out about  _us_."  
  
"Ah well, Kyoko." Beamed Sayaka. "I'd say this calls for celebration. What d'ya think?"  
  
They looked amorously towards Kensuke.  
  
And they did what they usually did to celebrate.  
  
They went downstairs and cooked a healthy and hearty breakfast.  
~~~

  
  
With a hand on his suitcase, Spencer Makinami left his board.  
  
"Do you just stand outside my room for  _hours_  waiting on me, Ryoji?"  
  
"It was only a few minutes, and the Subcommander told me to see you out." Cigarette in his mouth. "I thought you would've spent a bit more time here."  
  
"Y'know, I would've." He was... smiling? "But... I got a phone call last night. And I thought it necessary to get back to the States."  
  
Kaji huffed. "Lemme guess. That secretary of yours?"  
  
"Should've known  _you'd_  know." Rolling his eyes. "But yeah. Claire, her name is. Stuck with me through all this shit.  _Begged_  to stay with me through all this shit when I tried sending her away. Poor thing sounded like she went through a bit with this damned rogue Unit."  
  
"Sounds like she's into you." Blunt.  
  
A snort. "Don't I know it."  
  
"You don't feel the same way?" He gave a sideways glance, his interests piqued.  
  
"...It's a bit more complicated than that."  
  
"As it would be. With all that happened."  
  
"Walk with me, Kaji." So he did. "True, I have feelings for her. But I still feel like I'm reeling from... both losses."  
  
"She stayed by your side through it all, did she not? She obviously cares about you. And  _you_  obviously care about her, don't ya? Otherwise you wouldn't be this deadset on getting back Stateside."  
  
"Gah, can't hide a thing from you, can I?!" He jokingly berated a fellow agent. "Now that my daughter has joined my wife, I want to try... moving on with my life."  
  
A sense of commissary. "It's gonna be difficult. After all the time you spent."  
  
"...Don't I know it. I’ll probably take things slow. Try to get clean from all the Xanax and alcohol and all that other shit. I've re-evaluated a few things in the couple weeks I've been here."  
  
"Sure sounds like it. You thinking of getting out of the game as well?"  
  
" _Fuck_  no, that shit's for  _life,_ man. How old's Werner? And he's  _still_  deep in the game!"  
  
They shared a laugh, as they continued walking down the hall. "Though I might cut back a bit. For Claire's sake, y'know? She didn't deserve to get reeled in with me."  
  
"Yeah. I can relate with that. Gods know _Misato_ can be like that. But she knows that's my job. Plus, gets NERV a bit of intel on the side."  
  
"Ah, a symbiotic relationship. Good thing NERV are our allies."  
  
"Doubt you and Claire have such an _open_ exchange of information. If there’s some things the civvies were never meant to know."  
  
"You'd be surprised. Though she knows not to run her mouth." A sigh, as if the full extent of these feelings hit him like a wrecking ball. "I should've told her about my feelings before."  
  
"Well, make it back to her, and you'll have all the time in the world."  
  
"...Yeah.”  

There was a small pause. Makinami appeared to collect himself. “Ryoji, do you think it's odd I feel like...  _proposing_  to her? After all we've  _both_  been through in the past few weeks."  
  
Some interesting thoughts sprung up in Kaji's mind, as he was eerily reminded of a certain commander. "I don't think it is. I knew a couple who did something similar."  
  
"Not so odd then? It won't be immediate, mind you."  
  
"As I would expect. You two have some things to go through first."  
  
They reached the elevator to the surface. "Still. I think this is a good place to start moving on. Maybe... settle down again. I'll forever hold Mari and my wife in my heart, of course."  
  
"-But you won't let them hold you back? Not anymore." As they waited for the elevator. "Say. What was her name? If there was _one_ thing you could hide from the all seeing eye."  
  
He chuckled, amused. "Not so omnipotent after all, Kaji-sama?" Fond memories came back. "Annette. Her folks were evangelical Irish. I heard rumours they fled to the States due to some...  _potentially disagreeable_  connections during the First Troubles. Either way, they forced her to save herself until she was married to me. Didn't even allow us to sleep in the same room together until  _after_  the wedding."  
  
"Oh the poor girl.  _No one_  here follows that."  
  
"So I heard." Flat, as he stepped in the open elevator. He’s seen the Usenet. "Still. She was one of the sweetest girls I knew. Bit of a wallflower, but she could put her foot down when needed. Which she needed to do a  _lot_  with Mari, little scamp."  
  
"You two must've been together for a while."  
  
"Would've been 20 years the December past. Took us a while to get Mari, actually. It was only  _after_  Second Impact, oddly enough, that we had her." He held the door open. "...I see a lot of her in Claire, Ryoji. A part of me fears  _that's_  why I feel this way for her."  
  
His friend felt a twinge of sorrow, as he was reminded of his _own_ partner’s struggle coming to terms with thoughts like that. "Misato felt that way about me, too. Reminded her too much of someone she loved, and lost. Was why we separated initially. But... I think she eventually realised that it was alright to feel those feelings. As long as you love them, then that isn't so bad."  
  
They spent another moment in silence. "I'll have to think about that. But... if it works out. I might make you best man. That sound good?"  
  
"Yeah. That sounds alright."  
  
Makinami gave a small smirk. "Thanks, Ryoji. I owe ya."  
  
"It's all paying forward what you did for me, ain't it?"  
  
The smirk remained. "Yeah. Semper fi."  
  
"We aren't marines, Spen."  
  
"Couldn't think of any other farewell." A succinct saying and his trademark smirk, as the elevator doors closed.  
  
Kaji gave a single huff. "I think you'll be alright, Spencer."  
~~~

  
  
With their guest passes attached to their shirts, and Kensuke handling the map, they got lost for 30 minutes before they found the office of Ritsuko Akagi.  
  
"Must say, you're a little late." Ritsuko mused, as she tended to an odd machine.  
  
"Blame Ken here for getting us lost." Kyoko meanwhile immediately threw him under the bus.  
  
"Considering the  _Commander_  tends to get lost here as well." Maya equally mused.  
  
The puella glanced around this Frankenstein's lab, and laid their eyes on Rei. "Fancy seeing you here, Rei. Nice haircut."  
  
_"Thanks! I'm Eliza by the way."_  
  
All three guests tilted their heads like a bemused dog. " _Eliza_?"  
  
"Our daughter."  
  
All three glanced between Eliza and the two other administrators. "I'm not even gonna ask  _how_  that happened. Madoka's mum was right."  
  
"Good, it's a long and  _classified_  story. Maybe I'll tell you about it later." Tools down. "In the meantime, I have a task for you, Aida."  
  
"Already? You don't beat around the bush here." Thought Sayaka.  
  
Ritsuko slapped the top of the Ultradisc player. "This machine we're working on is a prototype machine designed for consumers. It is also one of the  _worst computers currently in existence._ " Her complete lack of intonation could spar with Angels.  
  
_"I'm amazed how you were able to program_ me _that well when this machine is frankly terrible."_  
  
"That's cause  _R &D_ built and coded this machine in a few  _weeks_. Whereas it took  _us_  over a year to code  _you_ , and even then  _you_ had to do a lot of the work yourself."  
  
"I'm not even gonna question how you  _program_  a human." He started inspecting, not even being fazed by the _existence_ of Eliza. "Cluster? I've dabbled with it a few times but you might as well get one decent computer instead of several smaller ones. Save you the effort."  
  
"Don't we know it. These are the ones we get bulk from NEC for 5000 Yen."  
  
" _Those_? I have better specs on my pre-Impact,  _dumpster_  Octane than this  _entire_  cluster." The roast of this machine continued. "So what's wrong with it?"  
  
"Asuka was tending to it, and performed the correct shutdown procedure of unplugging it. Now half the cluster won't boot."  
  
"Sounds to me like data corruption, due to a dirty shutdown. Power it on?"  
  
Ritsuko did. "You can KVM into the different terminals."  
  
Rotating the KVM knob, he noticed  _9_  of them not even  _displaying_. "Have you been running this on thoughts and prayers?"  
  
"More or less."  
  
"Thought so. Terminals 1 to 9 aren't displaying jack. Terminal 10 to 12 can't find a bootloader, init's corrupt on 13, and the rest are in varying states of panic. It's not even an issue of terrible programming, I think most of them are  _fried_."  
  
"Very good." First challenge complete. "Now, we're thinking about having a movie night. So this needs fixing before 1900 hours."  
  
"Fixing it is easy, just swap out the broken terminals.” He pointed out the cabinet that said ‘Spare Terminals’. “But I'm guessing that's not  _all_ there is to do."  
  
"You have a keen mind, Aida. Your other task, once this is fixed, is to optimise the program. Hammer out the bugs, fix the random crashes and leaks. Basics."  
  
"I'm guessing I get notes of some sort?"  
  
She glanced over at a large binder, and Kensuke went a bit pale as he laid eyes on it. "It's all in C, so you should be alright. Feel free to ask any of us if you get stuck somewhere."  
  
He spent a few minutes poking through this absurd binder. But oddly enough, to him at least, the code was _somewhat_ workable. "Well. This will be fun." As he got to work. Working with computers and the potential of working for NERV? What a day, what a lovely day!  
  
"Heh. Not even complaining about the impossibility of it all." Sayaka deadpanned.  
  
"Maybe to  _us_." Kyoko gave an eyeroll. "We never were good with computers, were we? So what's the chances  _we_  get jobs here too?"  
  
"High, considering 90% of Tokyo-3 is under NERV's employ one way or another." Mused Maya.  
~~~

  
  
"So... What the hell are we doing now?"  
  
Misato shrugged at Asuka. "Dunno. We got that 'Pacific Rim' to watch."  
  
" _After_  that. Since it seems we're gonna get a bit of time off."  
  
Twiddling her pen around. "Well, it's not like you’ll be piloting anytime soon." Thinking. "Vacation, maybe?"  
  
"Could be nice. Though we'd probably want  _you_  to join us, where ever the hell we decide to go."  
  
She glanced to a stack of papers. "Well I'm not leaving Tokyo-3 anytime soon, that's for sure." Flat.  
  
"Oh well, worth a shot." Conceding. "We aren't going anywhere without you, y’know."  
  
Misato  _felt_  like she shouldn't be taken aback at this point in time, since this is  _exactly_  what Asuka would do. But she did anyway. "...Thanks Asuka."  
  
"Don't the schools restart soon anyway?"  
  
"And since when have  _you_  cared about school, Ms electrical engineer?"  
  
"Since I got together with Shinji."  
  
"Touché. It starts up again next week."  
  
"And it's what, Wednesday now? That's enough time for a trip down to Okinawa or somewhere easy enough to get to."  
  
Yet  _another_  glance to the pile of papers. "Do you really think I'll earn any favours with Ritsuko loading  _these_  off on her?"  
  
"Touché." Asuka echoed. "So since we aren't having vacation anytime soon, when are we watching these new discs?"  
  
"I'm thinking later tonight. Ritsuko got Kensuke in to see if he can somehow fix R&D's mistake."  
  
Three seconds later, a questioning eyebrow went up. " _Kensuke_? How the hell could  _he_  fix that abomination If  _R &D_ made it  _that_  bad, what chance does  _he_  have?"  
  
"Dunno. Ritsuko seems to think he has potential. It'd get him in the fold, at least." Glancing at her pen. "...Plus, I think Ritsuko wants to help those paramours of his."  
  
Asuka thought back. "I can see her doing that. That's one of the reasons why I can't really hate him. Must've been my 15th birthday party I first noticed their relationship."  
  
"And how he acted as a beard for them. I thought that quite noble of him; would've been so easy for him to spill the beans, considering."  
  
She continued pondering. "Maybe having that NERV safety net would help them if shit hits the fan with their family. They told us their folks were a bit... conservative with their ideals."  
  
"Trust us, we know." She gave her a significant look. "1900 hours. Ritsuko is thinking of hooking up the machine to a projector of some sort, have ourselves a  _proper_  movie night."  
  
"Who's joining us?"  
  
"Anyone we can get."  
~~~

  
  
Shinji flipped off his phone. "Kaworu and Rei are in."  
  
"Where  _were_  they, anyway?"  
  
"Home. Doing what  _we_  usually do on slow days."  
  
Rolling of the eyes, as they came up on a door. "Typical."  
  
They knocked incessantly. "Oi! Lovebirds!"  
  
Both gave a small chuckle as they could hear fumbling and even crashing coming from the board. After around 30 seconds, a somewhat frazzled Zero Two opened the door. "Asuka? We were kinda… _busy_."  
  
She scanned Zero Two, with a deadpan look as she realised the oni's clothing was a  _bedsheet_. And over Zero Two's shoulder was Hiro,  _also_  in a modesty bedsheet. " _Yeah_. I'm sure you were." She gave a glance to Shinji, who rolled eyes and turned his back. "Good boy. Y'know those discs we found last night?"  
  
"The ones with the weird looking Franxx things? We're watching them today, right?"  
  
"1900 hours, according to Misato. Rei and Kaworu are in, same as us."  
  
"And I'm guessing  _both_  commanders are gonna join in too."  
  
"Yeah, maybe even Kensuke and his partners."  
  
"… _They’re_ here? How long have they been?”  
  
Shrugging. "Dunno. Rits wanted him, might give him a job here."  
  
"What can  _he_  do?"  
  
"Sometimes I ask that myself." Mused Shinji.  
  
"Computers? It's definitely related to  _that_."  
  
"Huh. I mean, he'd know more about them than me."  
  
Thinking back, Asuka might’ve realised something. "Have you  _ever_  used a computer, Zero Two?"  
  
"Can't say I have." Somewhat bashful. "Are they particularly common here? They weren't exactly handing them out to Parasites like us." Turning to the room. "Darling, have you ever used a computer?"  
  
"...What's a computer?"  
  
Asuka badly suppressed her laughter at Hiro's cluelessness. "Jesus Christ, didn't you guys have those  _phones_  though?"  
  
"... _That's_  a computer?"  
  
"How else do you think it functions. Magic?" Back to Zero Two. "So I'm guessing you're in with watching?"  
  
"Oh hell yeah." She confirmed, excited. "It'd be great to see something that  _wasn't_  us."  
  
"And riff on it."  
  
"Is there any  _other_  way to do it?"  
  
"Not for us." Asuka chuckled. "I'll let you get back to your  _darling_." Rolling the R. "Have fun!"  
  
"Trust us, we will."  
  
The door closed.  
  
"Are they trying to go for Misato's record or something?" He was flat.  
  
"Wouldn't be surprised, Shinji. Not like they have much else to do."  
  
"It looked like they were taking a page from  _Rei and Kaworu's_  book."  
  
"Don't we all? Only reason why  _we_  ain't doing the same thing is cause we're doing errands around the Geofront."  
  
"I mean, that never stopped us before."  
  
Asuka paused, and grew a sly grin. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"  
  
"If I was, you'd call me a pervert."  
  
"Ah, but you're  _my_  pervert, Shin-chan! So that makes it alright!" Wrapping an arm around him as they walked. "So what d'ya think? The lockers? A closet? Gendo's old office?"  
  
While Shinji _was_ getting a bit distracted at the thought, an additional thought put him back on track. "Wait, do we know if our folks are joining us for this movie night?"  
  
Nodding. "Misato asked them this morning, and they said they’ll join."  
  
Shinji briefly counted in his head. "Just how _many_ people will be watching this with us?"  
  
"Well... there's you and me, our folks, Rei and Kaworu, Hiro and Zero Two, Misato and Kaji, Ritsuko and Maya and probably Eliza as well, and since Kensuke's working on the damn thing that  _plays_  the movie, he and  _his_  birds are probably gonna join us as well."  
  
"How the hell are will we fit  _that_  many people? We're gonna need a proper theatre!"  
  
"I'm sure we have  _plenty_  of space down here. Even  _if_  we have to do an outside theatre. Ooh, speaking of room, what about Gendo's old office?"  
  
"And risk getting our names in the newsletter?"  
  
"Pfft, we've already  _been_  in it twice before. Hasn't stopped us yet."  
  
"...Wait, we  _have_?"  
~~~

  
  
Notes were read and studied by the bioengineer and former head of Project E, as they caught up on over a decade of developments. "Hey, Yui? How's that  _headmate_  of yours been doing?"  
  
"Gendo?" A small sigh. "He's doing alright. At least... as well as you can be when most of your soul is missing."  
  
"...Missing?"  
  
"Don't think I told you about that." Flipping to a page. "According to the Nephilim, according to Ritsuko, 'A wandering soul can persist as long as their constitution holds out'."  
  
"Ah. So he was so determined to stick around, it sapped him?"  
  
"And the longer a soul remains wandering, the higher the chance it... dies." Grimacing.  
  
Kyoko entered deep thought. "So he would have rather faded into oblivion than allow himself to be reborn."  
  
"He's stubborn, I know." A brief levity. "Especially since the call for rebirth is  _instinctual_ , according to our notes."  
  
"Obviously sticking around had its consequences."  
  
"...I can feel him. Somewhat. But he's muted." Introspection. "I can only really muster the resources to properly speak with him in my sleep. And even then..."  
  
"How does he... if you don't mind me asking."  
  
Yui tried to find the right analogy. "You know when you're  _just_  inside the range of a TV broadcast, and you have to watch through all the static? That's what it feels like. He... pauses a lot and really struggles trying to put his thoughts into words."  
  
Kyoko thought, both being doctors they knew what that meant. "...I'd call it brain damage. Not like he has what we  _could_  call a brain anymore."  
  
"…my thinking too. But I know  _some_  things about the soul. And... what decay can do." Yui kept her emotion quelled, for now. "But... when I held his hand in a recent dream of mine, he started sounding... almost normal. Like... before 2004, normal. He... still had to pause sometimes, but he sounded more confident with his... thoughts."  
  
"Your soul was helping his. Wasn't it?"  
  
"That's what I think happened. Using  _my_  soul as a proxy." Yui collected herself, squinting eyes shut and taking a deep breath. "Sometimes I feel like it would be better to let him go. But... I don't think I could."  
  
"Even after all that happened, you still love him."  
  
"...and he still loves me." A sigh. "Even with all he did, you could  _justify_  it as loving me."  
  
"Even getting it on with  _both_  Akagi’s?"  
  
A pause, and a nod. "Even that. In a way. Trying to get that sort of physical comfort back, even if it was completely loveless. I... could see myself doing that." Yet more thoughts. "I didn't know Naoko did...  _that_."  
  
"I kinda expected something bad will happen, when Ritsuko left the room. Jesus Christ, she would've had to see that."  
  
"...Rei as well. Not every day you witness your own death."  
  
"...and thing is. That all happened  _before_  the diverging point. So-"  
  
"-All that actually happened." A grim thought. "...including my contact experiment."  
  
"...Yeah."  
  
Understandably, they had to take a brief break after witnessing that, as Yui was reminded all too well of the consequences. Those series of episodes were probably the most traumatising for them both.  
  
"Though you're not the only one to have seen the consequences of your actions."  
  
Yui rested her hand on Kyoko's, offering a small comfort.  
  
"...thing is. I already _knew_ she found... _her_ , like that. From syncing with me. but seeing it like  _that_. and coupled with how  _destroyed_  Asuka became..."  
  
"...hard, isn't it?"  
  
A nod. "not even mentioning the movie... and to think, if frau Asuka and Shinji didn't get together like they did,  _that_  would've been what happened."  
  
Silence reigned.  
  
"It didn't happen like that, at least."  
  
"...yeah. God knows where we'd be if that happened."  
  
"Not here. That's for sure."  
  
Thoughts continued ruminating, as they tried to study.  
  
"...what about  _your_  headmate, Kyoko?"  
  
A small, half-hearted huff. "She's noting the similarities between Gendo and Pieter.  
_Beide waren komplette Arschlöcher. (Both were complete assholes.)_  
Yes I know that's what  _you_  think, but you must consider  _I_  only have the  _fond_  memories of him, and like Yui I can somewhat  _justify_ his actions as grief.  
_Er hätte wenigstens warten können, bis ich im verdammten Boden war. (He could've at least waited until I was in the damn floor.)_  
He could've, I'll give you  _that_  much. But what would  _you_  do if Pieter suddenly became insane and stopped loving you?  
_Das hat er getan, nein? (That's what he did, no?)_  
You know what I mean, Zeppelin."  
  
An aside to Yui, "Sorry about this, I'm gonna have to talk about this with her.  
Yes I  _know_  Pieter did that, but as I said, people do weird things when the love of their life goes insane and tries to  _kill their daughter_.  
_Es ist immer der Wunsch, Asuka zu töten, nicht wahr? (It's always with the desire to kill Asuka, isn't it?_ )  
No shit! I'm keeping you under lock and key around her, and God forbid I find Pieter and that new bird of his.  
_Wenn du das tust, werde ich beide lebend lebend häuten. (If you do, I'm gonna skin both of them alive.)_ "  
  
This kind of argument continued as Yui watched on, trying  _really_  hard not to be insensitive. "Man, we're  _both_  fucked up, aren't we?"  
  
The arguing with herself stopped, and she burst into laughter, as she realised the absurdity. "Comes with the job, doesn't it?"  
~~~

  
  
Kensuke had taken a few hours to tinker with the Ultradisc player, all the while Ritsuko and Maya watched on, taking notes and offering help when required, and while Kyoko, Sayaka and Eliza got to know one another.  
  
"Lemme get this straight. You're a computer."  
  
_"We established this seven and a half hours ago."_  
  
"I _know_ , but  _how_  does a program get a body  _exactly like Rei_?"  
  
_"I know the answer, but as mama said, it's classified."_  
  
"NERV shit, got it."  
  
_"That's probably the best answer you can get, until you get the authorisation at least."_  
  
"Man you really  _are_  a computer, aren't ya?"  
  
_"And what is_ that _suppose to mean?"_  
  
"Alright." With a few handwritten notes passed to the local administrator, Kensuke began. "I did as best as I could with it."  
  
Ritsuko looked over. "Explain to me some of the changes you made to the program."  
  
"Well, I optimised parts of the code and got rid of a few memory leaks. Might be some more, but it  _shouldn't_  leak like a sieve anymore."  
  
"And the cluster?"  
  
"I added some exception handling, so they shouldn't randomly panic anymore. Or  _explode_ , as Ibuki helpfully pointed out."  
  
"How does a computer _explode_ anyway? Only time I’ve seen them _explode_ was when Ken was watching _Star Trek_.”  
  
"Whatever R&D did, they managed to code a  _fork bomb_  into the thing. I wouldn't have even known  _what_  they were trying to code, if the comment didn't say it was to shunt resources around the cluster. Combined with the terrible thermals of these 5000 yen terminals, and hey presto, you get a  _cadmium fire._ "  
  
"I have  _no idea_  what you just said, Ken."  
  
" _We_  did." A smirk. "Most impressive. Now, it works, doesn't it?"  
  
"Honestly Akagi,  _anything_  it does now would be better than before."  
  
"Not exactly confidence inspiring, Aida." In deadpan, as she put a disc in.  
  
Shrugging. "Gotta remain modest."  
  
With the grinding that wouldn't have been solved for a  _software_  issue, the first disc of the newfound Rift material began playing.  
  
Kensuke went wide eyed. " _That_  looks pretty neat."  
  
"The giant robots piqued your interest, did they?" Queried Maya.  
  
"Yep."  
  
"Well you're in luck! We're planning on having a movie night, since these discs look like some Hollywood blockbuster we'd put on in the background while we do  _other_  things."  
  
"I'd say not in front of the kids." Mused Ritsuko.  
  
"Other than the fact  _we_  would probably do the same thing." Sayaka deadpanned.  
  
"That. I asked Asuka and Shinji to get everyone to watch. It'd do us some good to have  _some_  relaxation."  
  
"...Wait, so all this was just for me to fix a piece of  _hi-fi_?" Kensuke exasperated, kind of disgruntled, as the realisation only just hit him.  
  
"Got to start somewhere, don't we?" Ritsuko gave him a smirk. "I think you have the stuff. How would you like an apprenticeship?"  
  
Kensuke fell silent, as he forced himself to think. "...There's terms to it, obviously."  
  
"Of course. But they're reasonable, I'd think." Glasses on, she passed him a contract and listed a few terms. "Your schooling takes priority, obviously. We'll work with your school to make an appropriate timetable that balances schooling and apprenticing. The apprenticeship lasts however long it takes for you to learn. The benefits I listed kick in after a couple years, although you're still covered in case of emergencies. Pay is initially 10% of the standard NERV technician's salary during the apprenticeship period, and starts at 1/4th once completed, increasing by 25% every year unless otherwise overridden. Of course, there's other fine print."  
  
Kensuke spent a bit of time perusing said fine print. Indeed it was  _very_  reasonable; it was probably the best thing he could get out of an organisation like NERV. Though there was still a sticking point. "...I told you of our... situation, right?" A glance towards Sayaka and Kyoko.  
  
Ritsuko gave a nod. "Quite noble of you. Normally NERV benefits extend to  _one_  significant other, someone you married. But... as I said, we can arrange something. They'll  _both_  be taken care of, don't worry."  
  
A longer glance was given to the puella. They gave a gentle smile as they held hands.  
  
He softly smiled back. "Sounds good to me."  
  
He signed. Sure it wasn't exactly Evangelion pilot, but it was still  _NERV_. Company of his dreams.  
  
"Welcome aboard, Kensuke." The document was put in a file. "We'll get everything sorted, and we'll inform you on your first day back at school."  
  
_"We're watching that Rift material, right?"_  
  
"Indeed, call it a celebration of you getting hired!" A glance to her watch. "It's around the time I asked them to come anyway."  
  
She opened the door.  
  
And bore witness to a decimal of people.  
  
"We asked a few more, but they declined." Spoke Asuka, excited. "Hikari, ironically enough, thought it wouldn't be to her tastes. And her stooge wanted to stay with her."  
  
Ritsuko just looked bemused out to the crowd. "I don't think we’ll fit this many people in my lab."  
~~~

  
  
"Ah, we're finally using this room for something  _other_  than sexual escapades."  
  
Kaji was given a playful whack from the Commander. "We could probably turn it into a theatre. Beats what it's used for _now_."  
  
"We're keeping the desk, right?"  
  
"Of course, Asuka! We'll set it up  _right in the middle of the Geofront._  With  _cameras_."  
  
Yui inspected it closely. "...This is the same desk."  
  
"I probably wouldn't touch it, Yui." Kyoko shot a glare at Asuka. One of the curses of synchronisation was that she knew _all too well_ what Asuka and Shinji did. "I'm sure  _plenty_  of people here have gotten revenge on him."  
  
"Trust me, I know." Like Kyoko, she shot a glare at Shinji.  
  
"We  _do_  sanitise it." Ritsuko rolled her eyes. "We're not idiots."  
  
"Didn't  _you two_  get caught?"  
  
Maya glanced down in embarrassment.  
  
" _Ignoring_ the desk for a minute, how is this gonna work?" The  _puella_  Kyoko queried, while making a mental note to use the desk sometime in the future.  
  
_"Mama and ma found a projector, which is to be connected to the Ultradisc machine, so that the image may be projected."_  
  
"Where  _is_  the Ultradisc machine, anyway?"  
  
The door opened, and as if they were speaking of the devil, said machine appeared.  
  
"There it is, Ken." Sayaka was somewhat amused at the timing.  
  
"What  _is_  in this thing anyway?" Hiro muttered, struggling to move it, alongside the other Nephilim.  
  
"Surely  _we_  didn't need to help with this as well." Equally muttered Zero Two.  
  
"It gets you involved.” Was Rei’s only explanation.  
  
"Even though we could probably do it ourselves."  
  
"And risk throwing the machine against a wall?"  
  
"Okay, fair enough."  
  
"Did we really have to take the  _stairs_  though? I thought my darling was gonna collapse of exhaustion!"  
  
"It builds character." Rei piously defended, as the machine was dumped in position and the cables were inserted.  
  
"This seems like a lot of people."  
  
"You don't say, Hiro." Misato sat. "Grab a chair and sit down. We're gonna rip this to shreds."  
  
"If we can actually hear what's happening in this movie over everyone arguing about it." Muttered Asuka.

* * *

 

#  2\. Pacific Rim

 

 **Character Key:**  
GROUP NAME: Character name (Character abbrev.)  
  
PILOTS: Shinji (Sh) Asuka (A)  
ANGELS: Rei (Re) Kaworu (Kaw)  
OVERSIGHT: Misato (Mi) Kaji (Kaj)  
ADMINISTRATORS: Ritsuko (Ri) Maya (Ma) Eliza (E)  
OLD GUARD: Yui (Y) Kyoko-san (KyoS)  
FRANXX: Hiro (H) Zero Two (Z)  
PUELLA: Kensuke (Ken) Kyoko-chan (KyoC) Sayaka (Sa)

 

 _Titles (0:00:00)_  
Kaj: "Now  _that's_  a studio I haven't seen in a while."  
KyoS: "Warner Brothers? Did they ever release that Harry Potter adaptation they were planning on doing?"  
Kaw: "Second Impact put an end to those movies, and they haven't really recovered from the loss of that."  
Re: "They just do animation now, do they?"  
Kaw: "Not even that. They're subsisting on Laserdisc releases of their old Looney Toons. Kind of sad, really."  
Y: "Wasn't it Looney  _Tunes_?"  
Shrugging. "At least in  _this_  world it's Toons."  
Ken: "Okay, what about _Legendary_ , since you seem to know a lot about movies."  
Kaw: "Never heard of them."  
A: "Probably related to Warner in a way, in whatever universe this is from."

  
  
_Dictionary (0:00:36)_  
Sh: "I think we know what a  _Kaiju_  is, movie."  
Mi: "Consider the fact that this was made for  _English_  speaking audiences."  
KyoC: " _Is_  it in English? Cause I don't understand anything  _other_  than Japanese."  
Like magic, the Japanese subtitles appeared at the bottom of the screen.  
Sa: "Well  _that's_  convenient."  
Y: "It'd probably be more worth our while to switch the language to  _German_ , since more of us know it."  
Ri: " _If_ I could, I would. We know there's  _other_  files on these discs, but so far R&D haven't developed a menu system to select whatever the hell is on the disc."  
E: "To be fair, not like you have much to work with. Other than scrapped plans from a closed corporation."  
Ma: "By the looks of it, this movie will use  _both_  Japanese and German. Kaiju and Jaeger."  
A: "Like most anime then." Deadpan. "They're definitely keeping tradition."  
Z: "So this _actually_ happened, right?"  
Kaw: "Considering all the other anime we've seen might've happened."  
Mi: "We know  _your_  anime happened."  
Y: " _They_ have an anime as well?"  
Ma: "We might show you someday."  
KyoS: "...Considering how  _our_  show was like. Though it's not like  _that_  happened."  
Sa: "Maybe in a fever dream."  
Re: "Or in another reality."

  
  
_Pacific_  
A: "Ah, hence the name."  
Mi: "That's a fucking  _Dirac Rift_!"  
H: "What is it with your world and random holes in reality?"  
Ri: "It's how you got _here_." She shrugged.  
Y: "Still, it's odd.  _Why_  did a breach suddenly open?"  
Sh: "We may never know." Flat as Kansas.  
The first Kaiju made its appearance.  
In San Francisco, of all places.  
Ken: "At least  _this_  time around, it isn't  _Japan_  taking the brunt of the attack."  
KyoC: "Quite a change for once, isn't it?"  
Kaj: "Why  _San Francisco_ , of all places?"  
E: "A world without Second Impact?"  
Z: "We  _still_  don't know  _what_  Second Impact is."  
Ri: "And you'll have to wait a bit longer, because the civilians here don't need to know such things."  
Sa: " _Thanks_." She was flat, as the fight against the Kaiju continued.  
Kaw: "They don't have their Evangelion type mecha yet. Traditional fighting would be ineffective, at best."  
KyoS: "Not like they  _could_  do much else."  
Ma: "Kinda like how America was like  _recently_."  
Mi: "Which is why Evangelion is _still_ important. It's our best defence against just about  _anything_."  
Y: "Other people or armies, you could probably get away with standard infantry."  
KyoS: "Unless they  _also_  have Evangelion."  
Ri: "Which is why it's firmly in the hands of the UN."

  
  
_6 days, 35 miles (0:02:00)_  
Re: "Amazing they could even take it down  _at all_."  
Kaw: "Indeed. Three cities lost and it was probably the  _best_  outcome that could've been had, given the circumstances."  
A: "I wouldn't be surprised if they just up and nuked the fucker."  
Mi: "Considering  _we_  did that on occasion, and it only  _slowed_  the Angel's down. Hell, the Americans did just that with the Rogue Unit, and it did  _nothing_."  
Ri: "Then again, the Angels have the AT-Field. For all we know, the Kaiju are just  _tough_."  
Sh: "Even though, as I understand,  _everything_  has an AT-Field."  
Y: "Their world probably works differently. It's almost like a window into a world  _without_  Second Impact."  
Ken: "Through a very  _Gaijin_  lens."  
KyoC: "That's practically  _anything_  related to Japan that comes out of the States though."  
Kaj: "Give them  _some_  credit. They  _sometimes_  get things right."  
  
Six months later, Manila was attacked.  
Ma: "Manila doesn't even  _exist_  anymore."  
E: "Almost certainly a world without Second Impact, if such a coastal city could still exist."  
The third hit Cabo.  
And the fourth hit wherever.  
Z: "They almost sounds like  _our_  Klaxosaurs, don't they?"  
H: "They even kinda  _look_  like them. Blue pigment and all."  
A: "Obviously they ripped off your show, then."  
Kaw: "If they even  _knew_  the other  _existed_. We don't even know for certain these materials share the same  _origin_  universe."  
The Puella just looked confused. "What the _fuck_ is a Klaxosaur?"  
Misato gave an amused huff. "Maybe you'll find out someday."

  
  
_Greater Good_  
Y: "Though it's interesting to see that the UN  _still_  did what they did, in this other world."  
A: "What use is hating your fellow man when you can hate  _aliens_? Though Kaworu's alright."  
Kaw: "Thanks."  
Mi: "Pretty much the modus operandi of the Angel war."  
Kaw: "Of course, that wasn't the  _only_  reason."  
Ken: "I'm pretty sure the 'annihilation of all life if the Angels won' is a good incentive to band together."  
Sh: "Which sounds like exactly  _their_  incentive."  
Z: "Like  _our_  world's incentive as well. The Klaxosaurs wouldn't stop, therefore band together under one flag."  
H: "It's an effective method of pooling resources in order to  _fight_  the threat, I'll give them  _that_  much."  
KyoC: "Okay, you two  _increasingly_ sound like you've come from another world."  
H: "I mean, it's not  _wrong_."  
The Puella simply stared at the Franxx. "Man what is  _wrong_  with this world."  
Shrugging. "Beats me, other blue. Even then, it's better than  _our_  world."

  
  
_Jaeger (0:02:50)_  
Kaj: "And there it is. Jet Alone."  
Mi: "Well  _this_  is gonna be great." Her intonation indicated it would _not_ be great.  
The Administrators looked at the research and development of the Jaeger with interest. "Seems they came to the same conclusion as Doctor Franxx did."  
Ri: "It makes sense, Maya. Even the  _standard_  Evangelion cannot be piloted by one person alone." A significant look towards the Old Guard.  
E: "One needs another to help offset the mental strain. It appears the Jaeger program found this out the hard way."  
Y: "More like the  _only_  way. Science is built on risk. Sometimes, this is the price you pay."  
KyoS: "Lord knows  _we_  had to pay a price like that."  
Z: "So overall they're closer to  _our_  Franxx units."  
Kaw: "By the looks of it, it's not gender specific. Whereas the Franxx used a Pistil-Stamen core substitution system, the Jaeger system simply seeks to emulate a full brain with two, to spread the mental strain of operating a giant mecha around."  
Ken: "Two heads are better than one, makes sense. Is the Evangelion really-"  
"Yes." Pilots and Angels answered, Shinji continuing. "At least, by the looks of it, the Jaeger  _worked_."  
Re: "Of course they would. The Kaiju have been used to free reign over the Earth. They cannot compete against the might of the Jaeger."  
Sa: "Unless they adapt."  
KyoC: " _Until_  they adapt. It's too early on to say for sure."

  
  
_Rock Star (0:03:20)_  
A: "Sometimes I wonder why  _we_  never had that much fame."  
Mi: "You guys are  _lucky_  to have  _not_  become famous. You already have people like  _Kensuke_  here frothing at the mouth on the  _concept_  of you two being pilots."  
Ken: "Gee, thanks."  
Kaj: "Not to mention there would've been even  _more_  attempts at your lives."  
Sh: "We were  _already_  gigantic targets, couldn't even go to a damn cinema without SEELE trying  _something_. Hell, we still  _are_ targets."  
H: "And once again, like our world, they turned the Jaeger into an icon."  
KyoS: "Then again,  _any_  country would do that, if they had firepower like us."  
Y: "Making the enemy into  _toys?_ "  
Ma: "Honestly, we've considered it. Still are, in fact."  
E: "Wasn't there a law saying that NERV had all the rights to Angel and Evangelion material?"  
Ri: "Yeah, anyone wanting to make toys of Angels has to go through us."  
Kensuke looked on, perplexed. "Why  _haven't_  you? I would  _so_  buy a model of an Evangelion."  
Mi: "And  _there's_  that frothing at the mouth I mentioned earlier."  
Kaw: "This would be the pride before the fall."  
Sa: "Most of us could tell that. 'And man became proud' or something philosophical."  
H: " _One_  thing they seem to lack is the  _quantity_  of enemies."  
Sh: "Yeah, you two had to face sometimes  _hundreds_  of Klaxosaurs, didn't ya?"

  
  
_Knifehead_  
Kaw: "And here cometh the fall."  
KyoC: "8700 metric tons seems a bit excessive."  
Ri: "Well, we never weighted the Angels  _alive_ , for obvious reasons. But I'd consider that to be normal."  
Ma: "I think the most material we've recovered from an Angel was Ramiel's crystalline. And  _that_  was like 6000 tons worth, probably more."  
A: "Some Angels would've weighted  _nothing_."  
Shinji did a double take at the timestamp. "Man, the Kaiju war has been going on for  _ages_."  
Mi: "Considering the  _Angel_  war took only a year or so."  
Y: "This puts the timeline of the Kaiju first appearing  _2013_. At least in  _our_  world we were developing the Evangelion  _long_  before that."  
KyoS: "With how Project E was going, I thought it wouldn't be done until the damn  _2020s_."  
E: "It's a good thing it wasn't. Otherwise we wouldn't be here to complain about it."  
Z: "Ah, the 0200 hour sortie. Fun."  
Her intonation indicated it  _wasn't_  fun.  
Re: "I don't think we've had to  _sortie_  at such an early time."  
A: "There was  _Crucifix_ , but that was at like 0400 hours, wasn't it? A couple hours later but still  _early,_ but at least we had a days’ notice about it."  
Sh: " _And_  we had to work round the clock, into the early morning."  
Kaj: "Comes with the job."  
Sa: "So because of the dual pilot system, having the pilots be brothers would help?"  
Ri: "More or less. The closer the connection, the better you can mesh your brains together."  
Ken: "Makes sense. So you'd go for siblings, maybe parents. Lovers."  
H: "Though it's still a small selection. In our world, they  _fostered_  a relationship between both Pistil and Stamen, right from the beginning."  
Ma: "Well I don't think  _we'll_  be doing what APE did. Y'know, _human rights violations_."

  
  
_Tokyo Drift (0:04:45)_  
Re: "They have a  _lot_  more overhead, it seems. Even when it comes to  _suiting up_."  
A: "Yeah, it's not like we have to  _armour_  ourselves. Even the  _Franxx_  system had little additional equipment to attach."  
Z: "It was just the control harness, status display and spinal connection brace. If you were a skilled enough pilot, you could even forego the display."  
Ken: "What  _was_  piloting a Franxx like, anyway? If it's not classified?"  
Zero Two looked to the Administrators.  
And Ritsuko shrugged. "Franxx isn't Evangelion, feel free."  
Z: "Well basically, the Pistil was attached in front of the Stamen, and the Stamen used the controls of the Pistil to pilot the Franxx."  
The Puella took a bit of time to process. "How does  _that_  work?"  
Zero Two grew a predatory smirk. "Well, blue, " She position her chair in front of Hiro and rested her stomach on it, like she was back in the saddle of a Franxx. "So the controls would be attached to my hindquarters-"  
Ma: "I think they get the picture, Zero Two."  
The shocked look of the Puella  _and_  the Old Guard indicated they did, Kyoko especially exasperating. "Who the hell  _made_  it like that!?"  
Sh: "The kind of person you'd expect."  
The Jaegermeisters continued suiting up, as Zero Two returned to her previous position.  
Not that it abated Hiro's blush. "By the looks of it, they  _still_  have the same spinal brace the Pistil had."  
E: "I would say it's required for synchronisation. Or, Drift, in this case."  
Y: "...They couldn't just call it synchronisation like everyone else?"  
Zero Two shrugged. " _Our_  world called it  _Paracapacity_. Though then again, it was the level of sync, or  _capacity,_  between two  _Parasites_."  
KyoS: "Was that  _seriously_  what they called their pilots?"  
Mi: "Trust us, we were just as bemused as you were."

  
  
_Cockpit (0:05:22)_  
A: "It's much more industrial looking."  
H: "It  _sort of_  reminds me of a  _Franxx_  cockpit."  
Z: "It's much  _larger_  than it ever was."  
Ri: "Waste of space, if you ask me."  
Ken: "Though if synchrony was required, you'd  _want_  space to move around."  
KyoC: "Plus, the giant robot looks large enough to support that."  
E: "Still, it's how  _that_  world does it."  
Re: "Indeed, Eliza. We might as well not even  _compare_  differing worlds to our own."  
Kaw: "We still do though."  
Re: "Because it's fun." A small smile.  
KyoS: "If anything, the Jaeger looks  _completely_  mechanical."  
Ma: "So it  _is_  more akin to a Jet Alone compared to an Evangelion."  
Y: "Y'know, I  _heard_  rumours of JHCI looking into a rival for Evangelion, back in my time."  
Kaj: "Rits put a stop to that."  
Y: "We know." Chuckling. "I probably would've done the same, honestly."  
Sa: "They seem a lot more...  _relaxed_  about going into battle."  
Sh: "I mean,  _we_  sometimes small talk before battle."  
A: "You don't wanna be  _too_  tense before battle. But you  _do_  wanna get in that zone."  
H: "That kind of small talk wouldn't happen on  _our_  world."

  
  
_Drop (0:06:22)_  
Ma: "What is up with that  _screen_?"  
Kaj: "Looks like a caveman's hologram."  
Ritsuko snorted. "What, they haven't figured out how to combined RGB yet?"  
Y: "And yet they have giant robots."  
KyoS: "Must say, I don't find it effective to have the  _entire head_  be an entry plug. What if they need to be evacuated?"  
The Pilots shrugged. "Guess they die?"  
Kaw: "Odds are, they haven't even thought about that. In their hubris."  
Mi: "I'm sure they would've. You  _always_  want an escape plan."  
KyoC: "That seems like a lot of mechanical parts."  
Ri: "You'd be right. The Evangelion has nowhere near _that_  much mechanical parts in it."  
Sh: "Once again, more akin to Jet Alone."  
E: "Is it just me, or does the AI of Gypsy Danger make anyone nervous?"  
The rest of the Administrators tilted their head. "What for, Eliza?"  
E: "I don't know, ma. Just...  _something_  about their voice. Odd."  
Sa: "I mean, it's  _monotone_. It's probably  _supposed_  to be uncanny."  
E: "I don't think  _my_  voice was ever like that, though. Maybe  _that's_  why it perturbs me."

  
  
_Jet_  
Ken: "It runs on a 737 engine."  
Mi: "I imagine it's a lot more  _refined_  than that."  
A: "Though it  _still_  beats power cables."  
Ri: "I wouldn't even know  _how_  it could run on  _anything_  portable. Considering the Evangelion  _need_  the power output of at  _least_  an N2 reactor to run."  
Z: "At least the Franxx could run on liquid fuel."  
Kaj: "Even though said liquid fuel  _caused_  the Klaxosaurs to appear."  
Sh: "So it runs on Avgas?"  
Ken: "Would be Jet-A or some other military spec fuel, most likely. I think the JSSDF had trucks that ran on that stuff."  
Kaj: "Ah, the ones with the multi fuelled engines?"  
Ken: "Yeah, the M35 series. They're old American stock and they're over 40 years old at this point but  _damn_  do they work. You could probably run it on  _water_  if you had to."

  
  
_Handshake_  
Ri: "They  _do_  have a  _lot_  more overhead than what we  _ever_  had."  
Z: "Even what  _we_  had."  
Mi: "Gets the unemployment figure low. Though by the looks of it, they're hiring for the sake of hiring."  
Kaj: "You don't need someone to marshal a vehicle  _on tracks_."  
E: "If it's low visibility, it may provide some use. As Alaska might suggest."  
Y: "Even though Alaska had been iceless in  _my_  time. I doubt it came back  _now_."  
Ken: "You'd be right. Helped American oil, I suppose."  
Everyone paid close attention to how the two pilots synchronised.  
Zero Two was eerily reminded of her own world. "That's like what happened with  _us_ , wasn't it darling?"  
Which Hiro _also_ noted, to some perturbation. "Yeah. It's almost uncanny. I wonder if they were taught the same method of syncing."  
Sa: "Kinda makes sense, though. Melding minds together, of  _course_  you'd get some feedback like that."  
KyoC: "So if I’m understanding how this works, closer the connection, better the piloting."  
KyoS: "Essentially. Maybe even having a common memory to focus on."  
A: "Sounds like  _we'd_  be good at piloting this, eh Shinji?"  
Sh: "Depends on what memory we focus on." He insinuated.  
Re: "Most of us would be good Jaeger pilots in our respective pairs, if it works like that."

  
  
_Orders (0:08:30)_  
Mi: "Cold indeed. But the commander knows that  _that's_  a reasonable sacrifice to make."  
Ri: "Indeed. It's brutal, but it's simple statistics. You aren't gonna risk millions of people for  _ten_."  
KyoS: "And those types of decisions have to be made on the fly as well."  
Z: "Sometimes you  _have_  to be pragmatic about that kind of stuff. I know for a fact  _our_  commanders put the mission before everything else."  
A: "Ours do too, but that's something we've accepted by now."  
Sh: "We  _are_  soldiers, in a sense."  
KyoC: "Though they seem quite casual of it all."  
Re: "As they would be. Their sorties would be high, relatively. They're used to it."  
Kaw: "They're complacent."  
Ken: "I'm guessing the Jaeger doesn't have the mecha equivalent of power steering."  
Z: "Though a system like the Jaeger would help with awareness. In  _both_  Evangelion and Franxx, you sit down and pilot. Whereas the Jaeger, you actually  _do_  something."  
Kaj: "Like both pilots are  _becoming_  the Jaeger."  
E: "At least in  _our_  world, that's not how it works, right?"  
Ri: "It's  _close_. The role of the core is to synchronise with the pilot and act as a proxy for their thoughts. And I'm pretty sure that's how it works in Hiro and Zero Two's world as well."  
KyoS: "Can't say much for  _that_ , though I can see a system like this working. The core essentially allows us to split the load between core and pilot, so the pilot doesn't have a brain aneurysm trying to control it."  
Ri: "Which is why the Core Substitute System should work."

  
  
_10 Mile Line (0:09:13)_  
Kaj: "And even though it's  _entirely_  mechanical, it's  _still_  waterproofed."  
Yui gave him a glare, she saw the Laserdiscs. "Wouldn't have needed the C-type equipment in the first place." She muttered, being careful not to give away anything classified.  
A: "And even at the risk of Kaiju, they  _still_  fish."  
Shrugging from the commander. "It's a living."  
Kaw: "Fishing is a common job in coastal towns. For some, it's their  _only_  source of income."  
H: "...We certainly never fished to  _that_  scale before. At least while  _we_  were there."  
Re: "With great risk comes great reward. Especially now with the Kaiju threat."  
KyoS: "Of course, in this case, their lives aren't as important as the millions of others the Kaiju may threaten."  
Silence as they were reminded.  
Mi: "As we said. The commander knows it's cold. But it's war. Sometimes you have to make those decisions."  
The fishing boat saw an island three miles off.  
Two miles off.  
One mile off.  
Ken: "Well shit. It a-"  
The captain of the vessel finished his line.  
Z: "I doubt they stand a chance. If the Kaiju are anything like the Klaxosaurs."

  
  
_Face to Face (0:10:30)_  
If Zero Two's hopes were low before, they would've gone through the floor when Gipsy Danger appeared and squared up with Knifehead.  
At least until they saved the vessel. "Well,  _that_  was surprising." Spoke Sayaka. "Would've expected them to plow right through it."  
Ken: "Then again, they had ample opportunity."  
Y: "Might've put them at a disadvantage, though. The Kaiju got a shot at them."  
KyoS: "As long as it didn't go through any core systems. I doubt they would have an AT-Field for defence."  
Ri: "Considering Jet Alone did  _not_ , it's likely."  
Re: "Assuming the AT-Field exists in this world  _at all_."  
Lacking AT-Field or not, it didn't exactly bother Gipsy Danger, as it began to whale on the Kaiju.  
A: "Okay, so they're going well  _now_."  
Sh: "Not optimistic?"  
A: "We're barely  _10_  minutes in, Shinji. Kaworu can see it, this is the pride before the fall."  
Kaw: "Indeed. They would not show us this battle in particular otherwise."  
E: "A logical conclusion. I suspect the Jaeger will be lost this particular battle."  
KyoC: "Possibly with a death?"  
Shrugging from Maya. "It'd show us that piloting wasn't all sunshine and rainbows."  
"Which it isn't." All six pilots spoke in tandem.

  
  
_Signature Rising_  (0:12:00)  
Mi: "Okay, lets list the mistakes they made."  
Y: "Disobeyed orders."  
A: "Incorrectly assumed Kaiju was dead."  
Ken: "Utilised weaponry without authorisation."  
Z: "Ignored the advice of their superiors when it would've _actually_ helped."  
Gipsy Danger's gun arm was completely torn off, to the chagrin of the gathered.  
Kaj: "I'd like to add on not acting hastily enough."  
Ri: "To be fair, the Jaeger seems  _incredibly_  sluggish."  
H: "The  _Franxx_  were never like that. It really  _is_  like it's completely mechanical."  
Sh: "Reminds me how Jet Alone moved. It really  _is_  Jet Alone, isn't it?"  
KyoC: "I can't even really sympathise with them getting destroyed like this. If they had followed the books, maybe it wouldn't have become like this."

  
  
_Desync_  (0:13:20)  
Yancy was ripped from the cockpit.  
Now  _that_  made the gathered quiet, for once.  
Ritsuko simply shook her head. "And  _this_  is the risk that dual pilot systems bring."  
E: "One half goes, you can't pilot. Usually."  
A: "Jesus Christ, imagine how traumatising that is for him."  
Z: "...I  _can_. They were synced. He... would've felt every last moment of Yancy."  
H: "...you had to experience that. Did you?"  
Z: "...yeah. Before I met you. It's... disturbing. Even  _when_  I didn't care too much about the Stamen."  
The silence continued as Raleigh continued fighting.  
KyoC: "And even after all  _that_ , he  _still_  fights."  
Sh: "As you do. What  _else_  can you do?"  
Re: "If you don't fight, you're  _dead_. Simple as that."  
Gipsy Danger fired.  
Misato, as Ritsuko did before her, shook her head, as the Jaeger comms went down. "This is why you follow orders."  
Kaw: "And so come the fall."  
Y: "They destroyed it, at least." She glanced at Rei. "...As long as the enemy gets defeated."  
Re: "Sometimes... that's an acceptable cost."  
KyoS: "...though at  _this_  point, in  _that_  universe."  
Kaj: "As Kaworu said. They got cocky."

  
  
_Old Toy (0:14:32)_  
Kaw: "How foreboding."  
A: "They could at least be  _less_  obvious with how they tell us that father and son will find whatever remained from the Kaiju."  
Mi: "Remember, this was made for  _American_ audiences."  
Ken: "I doubt a metal detector works like that anyway, unless either Kaiju or Jaeger gave off an  _insane_  magnetic field."  
KyoS: "For the Jaeger, it's certainly possible. What with all the mechanisms it possesses."  
Re: "Maybe even for the  _Kaiju_ , if it has the appropriate power."  
It was indeed revealed to be a Jaeger, Gipsy Danger in fact, limping and falling face flat on the snowy shore. Like it were a busted up toy.  
Sh: "Man, the Kaiju really did a number on that thing, did it?"  
Kaj: "Damage like that is to be expected. At least from  _us_."  
Ri: "Gods know how many times the Evangelion were out of action for."  
E: "They're out of action  _now_. For an arbitrary period."  
Y: But at the very least, they weren't  _damaged_. At least from what I saw. Doesn't hold a candle to what  _some_  of the Angels did. At least... judging from what I saw."  
Kaw: "It's an amazing show of strength and willpower that Raleigh was able to get back to shore in the first place. Considering the mental strain it would've caused."  
Sa: "And especially considering what just happened."  
Ma: "...It makes sense then, in a way. Why Raleigh is reacting like this."  
A: "...He just lost his brother."  
H: "Not only that. They were synced at the time."  
KyoC: "Not to mention the medical attention he  _needs_."  
Kaj: "He will quit. There's no doubting it."  
Sh: "After something like  _that_. It's justified."  
  
(0:17:04)  
  
"Oh jeez, that was just the  _opening?_ "  
  
"Took a bit, didn't it Ken?" Kyoko-chan jested.  
  
"Then again, it  _is_  a blockbuster." Thought Kaworu. "They're like this."  
  
"Not often to  _this_  extent, from what we've seen." Equally thought Rei.  
  
"And all throughout it, we've been talking non-stop." Eliza lampshaded. "Must say, it's an interesting way of viewing this media."  
  
"What, completely roasting the  _shit_  out of it? It might as well be  _tradition_ at this point." Asuka was in complete deadpan.  
  
"It's  _fun_  though." Spoke Kyoko- _san._  "At least when it  _isn't_  traumatising."  
  
"Don't worry, you get used to it."  
~

  
  
_Learning_ (0:17:09)  
Z: "I would completely  _expect_  the Kaiju to adapt and learn."  
Sa: "It's odd, though. Once through the Rift, they would not be able to communicate their findings. Right?"  
The looks in the crowd indicated to her she was  _wrong_.  
Kaw: "You'd be surprised."  
H: "That's how the Klaxosaur princess did it."  
Ken: "Oh there's a Klaxosaur  _princess_  now?"  
Lima, Seattle, Vladivostok.  
All with destroyed Jaegers.  
KyoS: "Things have taken a turn for the worse in the five years that passed."  
Y: "And  _closing_ the Jaeger program?  _Why_  would you close down the  _best_  chance humanity had?"  
Ri: "Obviously, they found a better solution to sending giant robots after them."  
The UK representative revealed something about a big, beautiful wall that they'd probably get the Kaiju to pay for somehow.  
  
This kind of plan caused  _everyone_  to break into  _hysterics_ , at how utterly  _stupid_  it sounded to them. "Oh let’s give the Kaiju free reign over the  _world_  by walling ourselves off!" Asuka brutally mocked.  
Z: "At least in  _our_  world, the Plantations could  _move_! This is just  _suicide_  for them!"  
Y: "So instead of  _attacking_ , they've decided to wall themselves off and hope for the best? Are the politicians vying for a  _Darwin award_?"  
Kaj: "Maybe the Kaiju infiltrated the Governments to convince them this is a good idea. It's the only possible explanation  _why_ they'd choose that over the Jaeger, even  _if_  they weren't doing as well as they used to."  
Ken: "Maybe if they  _invested_  more into R&D, they'd be able to make designs to  _fight_  the new Kaiju."  
Kaw: "If humanity threw in the towel  _this_  early, the Angels would've been  _disappointed_."  
E: "While many years have passed, I cannot see why a  _wall_  would be better than the Jaeger."  
Sh: "At  _least_  they're giving them  _some_  semblance of a chance."  
Sa: "In Hong Kong, for once." Sayaka thought. "What's Hong Kong?"  
Kaj: "Was a British colony off the coast of China until '97. 3 years later it was rendered uninhabitable by Second Impact before they could do much. Go figure."  
KyoS: "Same with Macau. Shame, really. It had good casinos."

  
  
_Big, Beautiful Wall (0:18:39)_  
E: "Even  _where_  they're building it doesn't make sense. And the scale of such a protective wall makes it unfeasible, even  _compared_  to the Jaeger."  
Ri: "For us, maybe. Of course, the politicians seem to think otherwise."  
Mi: "Politicians are stupid."  
A: "So say we all. But Eliza has a point,  _how_  can you build a wall all the way from Alaska to  _California?_  That's  _insane_!"  
A single chuckle from Asuka's mother, as she noticed the graffitied sign. "Obviously the workers think the same thing."  
KyoC: "Wouldn't it be more worth the while to try  _corralling_  the Kaiju into a certain spot?"  
Ken: "It  _could_  work, if you could find  _something_  they want. Obviously Tokyo-3 did this with the Angels, why else would so many attack?"  
E: "A logical deduction."  
The foreman offered three new job openings.  
Sa: "Now  _that's_  a bit brutal."  
Ri: "That sort of work  _always_  comes with risks. That's why they're probably offered more rations for taking it up."  
Re: "They don't even get  _paid_. Unless you count  _rations_."  
Z: "I mean, that's kinda how  _we_  were."  
H: "I don't remember them  _withholding_  food from us for not working up to spec, Zero Two."  
Ma: "And why would they? That would reduce morale."  
KyoS: "They probably wouldn't even  _use_  money up there."  
Kaj: "So it's like prison, where  _food_  is the currency."  
A: "I mean, we could probably  _liken_ it to a prison."  
Sh: "They have  _some_  semblance of OHS, at least. They're tethered while working."  
Raleigh  _sliding down the girder_  like he was in some '20s slapstick immediately disproved Shinji's claim.

  
  
_Sydney (0:20:10)_  
A: "Christ,  _I_  wouldn't use  _those_  microwaves."  
Kaj: "And yet again, Australia."  
Chuckles were had, as the Kaiju broke through the border wall like it was butter. "Knew it wouldn't work." Snarked Kyoko-san.  
Sh: "So what, Sydney gets destroyed?"  
Kaj: "Can't get any worse than it is  _now_."  
They saw as the Jaeger named Striker Eureka immediately proved its worth.  
E: " _Why are they even building the wall?!_ "  
Kaw: "Politics. It would've had the  _appearance_  of safety. Like a placebo."  
Re: "It was  _nothing_  but a placebo. A wall would not hold them off."  
Y: "You would  _need_  to attack them."  
Ri: "This is why I hate bureaucracy."  
Z: " _Anyone_  worth their salt knows that you need to fight fire with fire. You can't just wall yourself off and hope for the best."  
H: "Even the  _plantations_ , with how walled off they  _were_ , they  _still_ -"  
KyoC: "What the hell is a plantation anyway?"  
Hiro stopped in his tracks, and turned to answer. "Mobile habitats of my world. Protected against Klaxosaurs, though at least we  _still_  had offensive capability."  
KyoC: "Huh."  
She didn't bother to question  _anything_  about what he said.  
Ma: "And yet Striker's pilot is  _still_  cocky."  
A: "As you would be. Not only did he just save his city, he just showed all those politicians that big, beautiful wall of theirs is  _useless_."

  
  
_Pentecost_  (0:21:38)  
Sh: "Of  _course_  they try to get a previous pilot back."  
Kaw: "And of course he'll join. Or there'd be no plot to this film."  
Sa: "Who will he even  _sync_  with? I doubt there's anyone else close to him."  
KyoS: "If not, he'll just have to form a relationship with them."  
A: "And the  _same_  Jaeger as well?"  
Ken: "Least he has a reason."  
Mi: "At this point, I would've thought the Mark 3 Jaeger would be _horribly_ under-classed by the new Kaiju."  
Ri: "That's probably true, but in Pentecost's position,  _any_  Unit counts. Hell,  _we_  think that as well, deploying  _prototypes_  alongside  _production_  Evangelion. Even  _if_  they're under-classed, every ounce of firepower counts in fights like these."  
Kaj: "And Pentecost knows this."  
Zero Two gave a grimace, as Raleigh confirmed her fear. "...Wouldn't wish that on anyone."  
H: "Did that ever happen to us?"  
Zero Two thought back. "Must've been the first battle, against the cube Gutenberg."  
Hiro froze, and glanced downward as he recalled. "...no wonder you acted like you did."  
KyoC: "I see the Marshal is appealing to the warrior within."  
A: "Fair enough, I’d think. It's better dying fighting."  
Re: "It beats freezing to death, that's for sure."

  
  
_Shatterdome (0:23:06)_  
Sh: "Didn't take much to convince him."  
Kaj: "It's a fair enough argument. At least you  _might_  make a hero of yourself before you die, instead of becoming some faceless statistic."  
A: "I see they  _also_  work out in the open. Though admittedly,  _Shatterdome_  is a pretty cool name for a base."  
Ken: "What is it with these kind of bases and  _domes_? The Geofront is one giant underground dome, and now there's  _this_."  
Hiro gave a small snort. "The Plantations were  _mobile_  domes."  
Kensuke just gave him a confused look, as before.  
Y: "But much like the Geofront, it's also used for research  _into_  the enemy."  
KyoS: "Indeed, this way implementing your findings is  _much_  easier than just having them separate entities. Project E encompasses both Evangelion  _and_  research  _towards_  Evangelion."  
Ken: "Must say, I  _love_  how the military vehicles look."  
KyoC: "Of course you do." A small smile, as he gushed.  
Kaj: "I don't think I've seen many vehicles like that."  
Ken: "They don't seem to be of this world, of course I'm not exactly an expert on  _American_  aircraft."  
They caught a glimpse of Mako Mori.  
Mi: "I'm guessing she's an analogue to either  _myself_  or you, Rits."  
E: "She's in charge of the Mark 3, so she would probably be closer to Mama. Though admittedly she  _does_  have  _some_  of your hair colour. And the haircut of Rei."  
Sa: "Oh wow, they actually said something I could  _understand_  for once."  
Mi: "Oh right, I forgot you two don't know  _anything_  English."  
Z: "I don't think  _we_  do, either."  
H: " _Some_  words are familiar, but I'm getting by fine with the subtitles myself."  
Choruses of agreement echoed.  
A: "I don't think _many_  of us understand English. Hell, we'd fare better if we watched this in  _German_. But hey, we can read, can't we?"  
Ken: "So  _this_  must be what a Gaijin feels like watching anime."

  
  
_R &D (0:24:55)_  
A: "Who are  _these_  stooges?"  
Kaw: "The comic relief, I imagine."  
KyoS: "Jesu, if  _they're_  the researchers."  
Ri: "They probably are." Emulating Kaworu. "Considering how they're gushing about Kla- Ja- damn it,  _Kaiju_  flesh."  
E: "How desperate must they be."  _Also_  emulating her mother.  
Y: "They  _are_  the research team. By the Gods."  
Kaj: "No wonder the Jaeger program hasn't been effective."  
Ken: "He even have  _tattoos_  of the Kaiju,  _why?_ "  
Mi: "Don't lie, _you'd_  probably get a tattoo of an Evangelion if it didn't make you look like a Yakuza."  
Ken: "I mean, yeah, but that's an  _Evangelion._ I probably wouldn't get  _Ramiel_  tattooed on my body."  
KyoC: "Although Ramiel did look pretty cool, admittedly."  
Kaw: "Thanks."  
Re: "So we can assume category 3 Kaiju are no larger 2500 ton."  
Y: "I mean, that's  _probably_  the weight of an  _Angel_. Most of them, at least."  
Sh: "And he  _doesn't_  realise that seeing the enemy up close and personal isn't all that's cracked up to be."  
Ma: "Of  _course_  he would. He hasn't piloted to know the truth behind the matter."  
A: "It's very easy to romanticise piloting when you're  _not_  piloting." She gave Kensuke a glare.  
H: "Yeah, it's not really all that fun. But hey, it's a living."  
Z: "At this point, piloting  _wouldn't_  be depicted as the glory it was. Like our world, and like here, piloting  _isn't_  glorious. Hell, it's downright  _traumatising_ , even stepping foot in an Evangelion or Franxx or whatever the hell other giant robot."

  
  
_The Cage (0:26:12)_  
The doors of the Shatterdome opened, revealing the final glories of the Jaeger program.  
A: "Well what do you know, it's  _Unit-02_."  
KyoS: "Quite uncanny, isn't it? Then again, could just be bias due to it being  _red_."  
A: " _Any_  red painted giant mecha I'm gonna associate with Unit-02 and  _you_ , mama."  
Sh: "It seems really  _busy_ there, actually. They must be working round the clock trying to get everything done."  
Ri: "Like how  _we_  were during the Angel war. Hell, we still are  _now_. It's amazing what an unpredictable sortie schedule does."  
E: "Comes with the job, doesn't it?"  
Ma: "Even  _if_  things have become relaxed lately, we  _still_  need to work to ensure we're ready  _next time_."  
Y: "Because there's  _always_  a next time, isn't there?"  
Nodding. "Hell, when we're not watching movies or anime with you, Ritsuko and our daughter and the rest of R&D are working with Massachusetts in order to get the NACSS design working."  
Mi: "Because we  _need_  the Evangelion in order to defend this world from whatever the hell attacks us. Be it Angels or SEELE or anything else that decides to come from space."  
Sa: "I'm guessing you're not even  _bothering_  to keep things classified for us muggles."  
Ken: "It helps they'd know if we said  _anything_  about it."  
Kaw: "This is why we don't use our phones."

  
  
_Clock_  
A: "The war clock is an interesting concept though, isn't it? Keeps track of whatever battles we thought."  
Ri: "The Magi do that already. They mark times between sorties. Though displaying it prominently like that  _could_  help remind people of the task at hand."  
KyoC: "Sounds like that's  _exactly_  what the marshal wanted."  
H: "I don't think our world  _bothered_  to track that. It was  _expected_  from everyone that you'd might only have a few days at best break between sorties. Not even mentioning how every Plantation was different."  
Re: "Then again, your scenario was a bit different from us or even the Kaiju in this movie. The Klaxosaur focused on  _quantity_."  
Z: "I thought it odd, initially, you guys only fought  _14_  distinct enemies."  
A: "More like  _13_. Ritsuko here fought one off with a  _keyboard_."  
E: "I was  _very_  impressed with such programming skill myself. Couldn't have had better parents."  
Now  _that_  caused blushing between the rest of the Administrators.  
Mi: "Just how many Jaegers have they  _lost_? Jesus, the Kaiju stopped fucking around at one point."  
Kaw: "They never were. It was the  _humans_  who became complacent."

  
  
_Crimson Typhoon_  (0:27:03)  
Kyoko-san looked like she was about to pop her membrane. "Okay. Titanium metal. Good, it makes for a strong armour.  _50 DIESEL engines per muscle STRAND. WARUM? Warum sollten sie Diesel verwenden?! (Why? Why would they use diesel?!)"_  
Y: "While diesel  _does_  have a high energy output, I thought it  _still_  wasn't enough for an Evangelion."  
Ri: "Obviously not unless you pile _50 diesel engines into a single muscle strand_." She muttered through teeth, at the sheer  _inefficiency_  of it. "The Evangelion are positively  _green_  compared to those Industrial Revolution coal factories."  
Z: "Even the  _Franxx_  used a  _single_  engine to burn through Magma. Though then again, I’m not sure how this 'diesel' stacks up against it."  
Mi: "Much like your world's magma energy, diesel comes from crude oil, which comes out of the ground."  
H: "The Klaxosaurs would've ripped the Jaeger to shreds."  
Kaj: "Of course,  _protecting_  the world comes before potential environmental effects of it."  
KyoC: "Even though polluting the world to protect it seems counterproductive."  
Shrugging. "Most concerns take a backseat when your  _existence_  is at risk." Misato justifiably defended. "So they need  _three_  pilots to control three  _arms?"_  
A: "What are you even gonna use a third arm  _for?_ Why not just go full Goro and have another set of arms?"  
The Franxx pilots looked at her with disconcertion.  
A: "Oh, not  _your_  Goro. Mortal Kombat Goro, he's a four armed warrior."  
Z: "Cause I was gonna say, I don't remember Goro  _ever_  having four arms. Unless  _something_  happened after we left."

  
  
_Cherno Alpha_  
Kaj: "I'm guessing by the fact that Jaeger starts with a T and looks like it came straight outta the Soviet Union, that it was made by Russia."  
All six pilots and all the NERV staff chuckled at how it looked like something out of a 50s rendition of the future. "Jeez they  _really_ wanted us to know it was designed with the Soviet aesthetic in mind."  
KyoC: "What's with its head? It looks like a green banana peel!"  
E: "Can't argue with its effectiveness, though. Six years protecting the Siberian wall." Eliza processed that thought a bit longer. "What use is the wall if it needs protecting?"  
Mi: "We've already established there  _is_  no purpose towards it."  
Kaw: "Wait a damn minute. Cherno. Cherno _byl_."  
Everyone groaned.

  
  
_Hercules_  
Asuka put on the most stereotypical land down under voice she could muster. "Ah g'day mate!"  
Kaw: "Least we know where he's from."  
Sh: "I don't even think I've  _ever_  heard an Australian accent that  _wasn't_  in a movie."  
Kaj: "I've heard New Zealand. But yeah, not many expatriates from post-Impact Australia nowadays."  
Pentecost revealed his plan, involving 2400 tons of thermonuclear warhead.  
E: "Using Makinami's idea?"  
Ma: "I'm sure he didn't have  _this_  much foresight. Although it is odd, admittedly."  
Z: "As far as we know, that bag was untouched when  _we_  found it."  
Re: "Coincidence, then."  
Mi: "The plan works. That's what we would've done with Leliel, had things gone south."  
KyoS: " _Despite_ the sheer absurdity of such plan."  
A: "...Good thing we didn't have to. But... I understand if it couldn't get done."  
Ken: "I get it, piloting an Evangelion isn't all that's cracked up to be." In dejection.

  
  
_SCIENCE!_  (0:29:41)  
Scrambling's of a madman were written on chalkboards, as the other madman dissected Kaiju tissue.  
Ri: "Gee, they can't even afford  _marker_."  
Y: "Not even  _trying_  to be sanitary with the tissue as well."  
KyoS: "He's wearing _gloves_ , at least."  
Sh: "Still, a double event? That'd be  _fun_."  
His intonation indicated it  _wouldn't_  be fun.  
Z: "Pfft. Doubles are child's play. Now when you get  _hundreds_ ,  _that's_  when the fun begins."  
Ken: "Kinda sounds like you all have the conclusion that  _we'd_  do better if Kaiju like this movie were to attack."  
Universal agreement sounded out.  
E: "Of course, we've had a good amount of time. Even  _before_  the Angels attack, we were able to get Evangelion ready."  
H: "Even in  _our_  universe, the Klaxosaurs already  _started_  attacking before the first Franxx were even  _conceived_."  
Z: "It was like, 5 or so years before they even started  _testing_  them?"  
KyoS: "Whereas tests for the Evangelion started around  _2004_."  
Sa: "That far back? We've never even  _seen_  them until a few years ago."  
Ma: "That's cause you're  _civvies_. Plus, if you're around the pilot's age, you would've been  _three_."  
Kaw: "His advice seems sound. A strong enough attack would collapse whatever mechanism is being used to keep the breach open."  
Re: "Of course, that's if they can even  _get_  there, with the increased Kaiju presence that he estimates."  
Mi: "Well if they  _can't_ , then they're  _dead_. Much like all the problems  _we_  had during the Angel war; it's either  _solve_  them or  _die_."  
E: "The brutal reality of the war we fight, isn't it? A reality that is shared with this other world."  
Z: "And ours."  
Ken: "As they say, war never changes."

  
  
_Biology_  
Re: "So they're closer to the Klaxosaur than Angel. They're cloned weapons, specifically for attacking Earth."  
Z: " _Does_  sound a lot like our world. Though they weren't really  _clones_ , at least as far as I could tell."  
Kaw: "Could be a progenitive race. When I was with SEELE, there was a theory that the Black and White eggs of the First Ancestral Race were  _weapons_. To fight any enemy that  _threatened_  the FAR."  
A: "Not like we could even  _prove_  that."  
Re: "We  _disproved_  it with... Arael's  _help_. Didn't we?"  
Kaworu _still_ struggled with those thoughts. But he could hold them. "Yes. Despite what happened, we  _did_  recall that."  
Sa: "I don't get it."  
Kaj: "Be thankful your brain hasn't melted." Deadpan. "Plus, I'm pretty sure it's classified anyway."  
KyoC: "Not that you guys care that much anymore."  
Sh: "As they said, they'd know if you splurge. What was the punishment for that again?"  
Mi: "Well, it counts as  _treason_."  
Ri: "Is he  _seriously_  thinking about synchronising with a Kaiju brain?"  
KyoS: "Well, if it'll allow them to find out more about the Kaiju."  
Y: "Wasn't it that kind of thinking that got us stuck in the Evangelion?"  
KyoS: "We all know sometimes that kind of risk is required in the pursuit of science. I'm sure that's the same from wherever  _these_ two were from."  
H: "The creator of the Franxx lost his arm when attempting to negotiate with the Klaxosaur princess."  
Z: "But using the sample of DNA he collected  _from_  that, I was born. Well, born  _then._ "  
E: "He's gonna do it, is he?"  
Ri: "Eeyup."

  
  
_Gipsy Danger_  (0:33:13)  
Kaw: "Like seeing an old friend."  
Sh: "Or your mother."  
Y: "Such a machine, he would've had such a  _connection_  to it."  
KyoS: "Like us with  _our_  Evangelion."  
Zero Two thought, upon seeing how  _nostalgic_  Raleigh sounded. "...Sometimes I feel that way about Strelitzia. Eh, darling?"  
H: "...Yeah. We had many good memories in there, did we?"  
Z: "Can't forget the bad ones, as well." Thinking. "...Do you know if anything related to Strelitzia ended up here?"  
Ritsuko shook her head. "The only thing that we could find were you two, and the discs that you came here with."  
Zero Two looked  _almost_  dejected. "Y'know something? I'm not sure if that's even a  _bad_  thing at this point."  
Ma: "Would've helped us with our research. Would've been much harder to hide, though."  
E: "Maybe  _we_  should get around to watching your show."  
Zero Two gave a soft smile. "I wouldn't mind. Maybe Kensuke and his friends could join in as well."  
Ri: "I don't see why not. Maybe sometime later, we can organise  _another_  watch party. Cause Maya and I missed out on a few episodes as well."  
Mi: "Oh man, it gets real hectic after episode 15."  
Ritsuko gave the commander a glare. "No spoilers."  
Misato poked her tongue.  
KyoC: "I'm guessing  _your_  show doesn't have anything classified."  
Z: " _You_  have a show as well?"  
Sa: "It has  _us_  in it, though it's not entirely related to  _us_."  
Zero Two looked around. "Is  _everyone_  here in a show of some sort?"  
Everyone else looked around as well.  
E: "I believe I'm the exception. I would not have been created in the alternate reality portrayed in our show."  
KyoC: "Count yourself lucky."

  
  
_Quarters_  (0:33:55)  
Kaw: "I believe she has  _some_ kind of feeling for Raleigh."  
Re: "Kind of obvious, isn't it?"  
Z: "Then again, aren't you two some kind of love gurus?"  
Rei gave a small giggle. "More or less."  
A: "She actually seems to have  _some_  potential as a pilot, judging by her scorecard."  
Sh: "And the marshal's reason?"  
Mi: "Well, obviously the marshal doesn't want her going out and potentially dying. This leaves only one conclusion."  
Kaj: "They're lovers."  
Misato glared. "No, she a  _daughter_. Probably adopted, considering."  
Kaj: "Oh."  
He thought it best to shut up for a minute or so.  
Z: "She sounds like a bit of a wallflower. Like Kokoro was."  
Re: "It's almost like she's  _me_  as I  _was_ , except with a bit more emotion."  
E: "She even has your kind of haircut, Rei."  
Ri: "He has a good counterpoint to her argument. Piloting isn't clear cut, is it?"  
Asuka shook her head. "Sometimes you  _have_  to break rank. Hell, it's why you allow _some_  insubordination in battle, as long as it doesn't  _negatively_ affect anything."  
Y: "Still, you'd want to at least  _try_  following orders."  
A: "Considering  _some_  of the orders we've been given in the past."  
KyoS: "Of course, you have to consider some of the  _decisions_  Raleigh has made as well. It was that very same insubordination that lead to  _defeat_. It would've been better if they took it seriously."  
Ken: "That's what happens when you get cocky though. It's why they say to you 'don't get cocky', cause then you start taking dumb risks and making dumb decisions."  
Sh: "I think we know that by now."  
Sa: "Maybe they  _are_  related. If they're talking like  _that_."  
KyoC: "Elements of a traumatic past, possibly?"

  
  
_Mess Hall_  (0:36:34)  
Z: "Ah, the wonders of non-rationed food."  
H: "That was pretty much all we  _had_  in our last few weeks on  _our_  world, wasn't it?"  
Z: "Other than what  _we_  made." A smirk. "Can't say I miss those rations. Especially  _after_  that dinner we had a week or so ago."  
Mi: "Even if all you got was  _streetcart ramen_ , it'd  _still_  be better than rations."  
Ken: "Might as well be a constant." He also deadpanned. "Though the rations they give the JSSDF aren't that bad. They're rather nice actually."  
KyoC: "Then again, you're a nut for that kind of stuff, are ya?"  
Ri: "Even so, military rations are designed with a few key things in mind: Nutrition, and morale. You won’t raise the morale of troops with grey mush."  
Ken: "You obviously haven't seen a JSSDF ration then." Yet more deadpan. "They don't exactly  _look_  the part, but they sure  _taste_ the part."  
Sh: "I'm sure if you could make it  _taste_  good, that's half the enjoyment there."  
A: "Visuals go a long way into making food taste good though. Despite what people say, you make a first impression with the eyes."  
Kaw: "I understand how the merits of ration food can be interesting, but I think we're missing out on some conflict here."  
KyoS: "Obviously Chuck, was it? He's  _threatened_  by Raleigh."  
Y: "I don't really see  _why_. Does he think he could one up him in Gipsy Danger or something?"  
Re: "Obviously so, or he wouldn't be as antagonistic towards him."  
Sa: "Well, if he believed Raleigh bought down the Jaeger program, of  _course_  he'd feel that way."  
E: "It was indeed his actions that exacerbated the fall of the Jaeger program in the way we saw. But by what we saw, it would've been  _inevitable_. It's a simple fact that the Kaiju would've continued growing in both quality  _and_  quantity, and the Jaeger program would simply not be able to  _respond_  to such change. The sortie against Knifehead was simply the first time it was evident."  
Kaj: "Either way, he probably  _does_  need a kick in the ass."

  
  
_Trials_  (0:38:11)  
E: "A martial art like this  _would_  help in honing one's attack skill."  
Ri: "Though if we consider in the Jaeger, they'll be doing this quite a bit slower to accommodate for the more sluggish control."  
Mi: "Still, a martial art like that helps with developing a  _soldier._  Develops their fitness, and gives them a method of self-defence."  
A: "How  _else_  do you think I could stuff incessant boys into trash cans?"  
Kaj: "It's a staple in  _our_  armed forces. Others as well; I know the IDF has that Krav Maga."  
A: "I'm pretty sure that's what  _I_  was taught when I was learning to pilot. It wasn't a certain specific martial art."  
Sh: "You must be the  _only_  pilot with that then, cause  _I_  don't."  
Re: "I don't either, and I don't recall Kaworu ever doing it as well."  
Kaw: "Though it's not like we  _need_  such martial art skills."  
Z: " _We_  certainly weren't taught this 'Krov Magra'. It was just some standard self-defence, probably didn't even  _have_  a name."  
H: "Would've been  _another_  thing we could've used to fight back."  
Kaj: "Either way,  _I_  certainly wouldn't have picked up on her little grimace."  
Y: "He's perceptive. That's  _good_  when it comes to a soldier, shows they can see minor details and act on them. He'd make a good sentinel."  
KyoC: "Though it's not like putting them down a few moves earlier would've mattered."  
KyoS: "It  _would_ , actually. The quicker you can pacify your foe, not only the more time you can focus on  _another_  foe, it's  _less_  time you spend in danger. Every  _second_  of fighting is for  _survival_."  
H: "Though then again, he probably wants  _more_  of a challenge. Judging by her look, she obviously sees  _some_  potential in him."  
Asuka gave a single chuckle. "If I was one of the cadets fighting him, I'd find that insulting."  
Ken: "Not that it matters  _too_  much. Whatever the marshal says goes."  
Sa: "We know that's not  _always_  the case."  
Ma: "And look what happened the  _last_  time Raleigh went against the marshal."  
Of course, this didn't stop Raleigh from  _provoking_  Pentecost.  
Kaw: "It's certainly in character, from what we know about Raleigh."  
Mi: "I wouldn't have expected him to concede  _that_  quickly though."

  
  
_Stick Fight_  (0:39:41)  
A: "Am I the only one who finds it obvious she'll  _win_?"  
Ri: "American films don't beat around the bush, that's for sure."  
Kaw: " _Most_  American films."  
  
They watched the fight in silence, impressed at how Mako was able to  _win_  against Raleigh.  
KyoC: " _Damn_ , girl! She got some  _skill_  with that stick!"  
E: "They both didn't hold anything back."  
A: "Good. I would've been  _disappointed_  with Raleigh had he done so."  
Sh: "I doubt that'll change the Marshal's opinion on her, though. Despite Raleigh's posturing."  
They shrugged at the obvious conclusion. "Sometimes the chain of command is stupid like that."  
Y: "Aren't you the  _top_  of the chain of command, Misato?"  
Mi: "I may be commander, doesn't mean I'm  _infallible_. I know a certain  _other_  commander who thought themselves infallible though."  
KyoS: "Even so, he  _still_  tries to get Mako."  
Ken: "He kinda feels like a minor rogue type to me. He's willing to go beyond orders, but only if he knows it'll help."  
Mi: "That's what  _I_  encourage. And  _any_  good commander should encourage that, especially on the field where they may not be able to adapt to the conditions."  
Z: "That was kinda  _our_  commander's style. We were given a task, but more often than not, we had to use our own judgement in order to defeat it."  
H: "Unless we were put in the back, somewhere." He muttered.

  
  
_Elevator (0:42:48)_  
Sa: "Of course, it's increasingly obvious to even a laywoman like me that he's  _hiding_  something."  
Kaw: "Well, we already suspect Mako and Pentecost to be related. Hence why he's so protective of him."  
Blood dripped on Pentecost's shoe.  
Kaj: "It's obvious  _something_  happened to him. Whatever those pills are for, they're keeping him alive."  
E: "Interesting. I have a couple theories on  _why_  that may be happening. Either as a side effect from something involving Mako, explaining his protectionism of her; or something to do with the Jaeger."  
A: " _Most_  of the things come down to the Jaeger." She was sardonic. "Always the giant robots and the issues."  
Z: "Speaking of, the riots."  
Ken: " _Justified_  riots, in my opinion. The wall is  _useless_ , you might as well hang a sign on it that says 'Free lunch for Kaijus'."  
Y: "They  _must_  have an incentive for making something so  _pointless_. It's such a  _stupid_  idea."  
Sh: "We already had that theory the Kaiju infiltrated the politics of that world. Kinda like what happened with  _your_  world, Hiro and Zero Two."  
KyoS: "Course, that's mere speculation at this point."

  
  
_Kaiju-Human Drift_  (0:43:45)  
A: "Ah Christ, he's actually gonna do it."  
Y: "Now, I know I did the contact experiment. But I wouldn't mesh my brain with what amounts to an Angel."  
_'Not so bad, is it Rei?'  
'It's not, actually.' _She gave him a small smile. "No one else is supporting him with his endeavour. And it's clear he may be at least a  _bit_  insane in trying to pursue it."  
Ri: "Most of us are, you realise." Deadpan.  
KyoS: "Comes with the job."  
Ken: "So mental issues come with the job, right?"  
Mi: "Yes, you get your choice of three when you get hired. It's how we pay for the dental." She was brutally mocking of her own organisation.  
Sh: "It's a bit of a Faustian decision, but hey! Free dental! Can't go wrong with that!"  
KyoC: "Yes, I'm sure that'd be great to put in a job fair."  
Kaw: "Ah, I see he's taken the former commander's playbook of 'Every path is a path to victory'."  
Z: "Well those are the best kinds of odds. Even  _if_  you die, you win."  
Kaj: "Course, if he's dead, then he can't really contribute to the Kaiju war."  
Sa: "Considering he's also one of the  _last_  researchers they have, I'd say he shouldn't try killing himself for science."  
All the scientists in the room shrugged, as the Drift began.  
KyoS: "Holy shit, it's _actually working_."  
Kaworu _especially_ watched on in awe. "...Fascinating. It appears the Kaiju  _are_  indeed weapons. Built by a progenitive race."  
E: "Earth is important to them, then. They want it for their own purposes."  
Ma: "They probably have the same goal the Angels had."  
While she didn't elaborate further for the sake of the civvies’ brains not imploding in on themselves, most got the gist of it.

  
  
_Trial Run (0:45:35)_  
A: "Ah, so Pentecost  _is_  relenting."  
Sh: "Now, I'm sure Kaworu would know the implications of such a small shoe like that."  
Kaw: "From her youth.  _Something_  happened between the two, that most likely caused the Marshal's protective tendencies towards her."  
E: "Either way, he has relented. Now we can see what happens between the two of them."  
Ri: "Maybe the reason he doesn't let her sync is because he's not certain she could... not be affected by the memories she has."  
KyoS: "A reasonable assumption, given we know this sync does that."  
Sa: "If anything, they certainly spruced up the uniform in the five years since Raleigh  _last_  sortied."  
Kaj: "This would be his  _first_  sortie since his brother died, wouldn't it?"  
Z: "...This might dig up some unpleasant memories for  _both_  of them, then."  
Gipsy Danger began start up, and the neural handshake began, the group watching to see how this would go.  
...Okay, mainly to see how this would  _fail_.  
Y: "With what we know, his words are a good warning. Random Access Brain Impulse Triggers. Such a synchronisation like what we see would cause such a word salad of a phenomena."  
KyoS: "But it's quite a descriptive definition. Even  _regular_  synchronisation triggers impulses like that, they're just not pronounced with the core design."  
H: "We were taught something  _similar_. Don't focus too much on what you see, just focus on synchronising with your partner. Otherwise you'll be lead down an endless path."  
E: "It's most likely a warning  _you'll_  have to follow in the future, when the Nagisa-Akagi Core Substitute System goes into service."  
Ken: "Though like was suggested already, common memories may help."  
Re: "These two haven't known one another for long. They don't have  _any_  common memory to share. At least with siblings, parents or even  _lovers_ , you'd have  _years_  of potential common memories you could relate with. Mako and Raleigh would at most have  _hours_  of common memory."  
The Drift began.  
  
And succeeded. Much to the surprise of everyone.  
Kaw: "Huh. I didn't expect it to go  _this_  well first try."  
KyoS: "Especially considering what they saw.  _Both_  of them."  
A: "My  _first_  sync wasn't  _that_  successful. She must have  _some_  kind of knack for this."  
Sh: "Drift compatible, as they say."  
Mi: "It's not like any random people can mesh brains together. You'd need  _some_  kind of connection between the two. Even one as newly established as  _theirs_  would be enough for at least a  _basic_  Drift."

  
  
_Meshed_  
Kaw: "Speaking of  _Drift_ , this  _scientist_."  
Ma: "I don't think it was a wide idea from him. Considering the potential differences between a Kaiju brain and a human brain."  
Y: " _Anyone_  with common sense could tell that. 'Don't mix your brain with someone of a higher intelligence'."  
KyoS: "Hell, it's  _biblical_. If God appeared to Moses in whatever incomprehensible form he is instead of a burning bush, Moses'  _being_  would've  _liquefied_."  
A: "I mean, he's not a babbling invalid, so he can't be  _too_ fried."  
Z: "Pretty sure worst happened during the Franxx testing."  
KyoC: "Then again, they mention it was only  _part_  of a brain. Not the whole brain."  
Sa: "I'm sure if it was a  _whole_  Kaiju brain,  _then_  his brain would've flowed from his ears."  
Sh: "Though, by the sounds of it, he's confirming what we suspected."  
Rei raised an eyebrow at Newt's babbling. "...It is  _exactly_  what Kaworu suspected."  
H: "It's exactly what  _VIRM_  wanted, too. To consume our world and move on to the next. Like they've done many times before."  
E: "I'm starting to notice a pattern with these shows."  
Mi: "How there's always a bigger than us conspiracy trying to destroy us? Yeah that happens a lot." She deadpanned.  
Kaj: "So what, they're just gonna go shop for Kaiju brain. Like that's a thing you can get in a market."  
Ri: "Coming from  _you_  of all people, that's a bit naive. Black markets have  _everything_. Hell, I'm sure  _Angel tissue_  somehow made its way into some obscure Usenet marketplace."

  
  
_Free Market (0:50:27)_  
A: "Least Chuck's dad is  _trying_  to teach him  _some_  respect."  
Ri: "Told you, Kaji." She gave him a smirk, as she was proven right.  
E: "Especially considered the general spread of the Kaiju, it would've been  _certain_ people profit from the remains."  
KyoS: "I'm sure plenty of people would pay a lot of money for a piece of Kaiju."  
Ma: "Hell,  _they_  probably pay a  _lot_  of money for Kaiju tissue."  
Sa: "And they're clearly not above black market means."  
Y: "Then again, not like you could even  _tax_  remains of aliens."  
Mi: "You'd be surprised."  
Sh: "Though I can see where the Marshal's coming from. Before they might've had  _legal_  pathways in acquiring Kaiju remains, but it's obvious by their state those paths are gone."  
A: "The free market finds a way."  
Kaji simply sighed. "Man they sell  _everything_  nowadays."

  
  
_RABIT_  (0:51:07)  
The sync continued.  
Kaw: "He's chasing the RABIT."  
Ken: " _Both_  are, by the sounds of it."  
Kaj: "Oy. At least Raleigh would have  _some_  sort of training to correct it."  
KyoC: "It'd take  _incredible_ willpower to power through something like that."  
A: "Trained pilots have that. But Mako  _isn't_  a  _trained_  pilot."  
Z: "Therefore she goes down that path."  
H: "Then again, has she learnt to pull herself out of that?" An open question to whoever knew.  
Ri: "She wouldn't. Not at this stage."  
Despite Raleigh's attempt at bringing her out, Mako continued chasing the RABIT, into the bottomless pit of a traumatic memory.  
Re: "...Sometimes memories can be like that. Something happens and you just keep following it."  
A: "Sometimes it's even  _forced_  on you."  
Kyoko-san gave a grimace, as she recalled Arael. "...None of you deserved that."  
Re: "Ritsuko told you? It wasn't Asuka or Shinji who had to bear Arael. That's... how I usually deal with it."  
Z: "Rei?"  
Re: "...One of the Angels we fought. It... invaded my mine and... the mind of Kaworu."  
Kaw: "Indeed. I... relied a lot on Rei after that."  
The Franxx pilots looked on, perturbed. "We didn't have to deal with  _that_."  
Sa: "...was this how it appeared?"  
Rei continued watching Mako chase the RABIT. "...no. A part of it was memory, yes. But... it was mainly the Angel... using my own fears against me."  
Kaworu went for her hand, a small comfort. "...we got through it, though."  
Re: "...together, we did. With Shinji and Asuka, too. But... like Mako. The memory's still there. They don't... go away."  
Kaw: "...even  _after_  what happened with Armisael."  
Re: "...yeah."  
E: "This was the pain I saw in you. During our first sync. Wasn't it?"  
Re: "...parts of it would've been. But... there's so much else than that."

  
  
_Charging (0:54:00)_  
The Puella and Franxx pilots all saw Rei in a different light, as Mako engaged weapons.  
Re: "So  _that's_  why that's an issue."  
Y: "Her awareness is completely shot. She probably doesn't even know what happened."  
Ri: "Why doesn't the computer detect if someone's following a RABIT and  _disable_  weapons temporarily? Hell, the technicians  _did_  detect she was following a RABIT."  
A: "This raises  _another_  question. Why are the weapons systems engaged  _at all_? This was supposed to be a  _test_!"  
Mi: "Good to see we aren't the  _only_  ones with failsafe failures."  
Ma: "Hell, we're  _better_ , cause if something goes wrong during a test, we have a  _solid_  way of disabling the Evangelion."  
Re: "Not to mention the fact you don't  _arm_  the Evangelion during tests."  
KyoS: "It'd be wise to not arm them  _at all_ , unless they're  _actually_  fighting. Which is why we designed Evangelion sized firearms for it."  
Ken: "It'd make weapons more modular as well, wouldn't it?"  
KyoS: "That was the intention. You don't wanna be stuck with a single weapon hard built into your hand, that's  _stupid_  design."  
KyoC: "Then again, the Jaeger seem much less... speedy, compared to an Evangelion. Even from the limited things a muggle like me has seen. Probably wouldn't do too well with a  _gun._ "  
The technicians  _finally_  bought Gipsy Danger offline, pulling the plug after every other failsafe had failed.  
Ri: "And this is why, even  _if_  they have an S2, we  _disable_  such things  _before_  running tests on the Evangelion. Cause we don't know for sure what will happen, and the  _only_  way you'd be able to stop it is if you powered it down."  
KyoS: "Tendo, was he? He  _knows_  shit like that happens. And he knows the importance of a  _hard_  failsafe, because sometimes the Evangelion based ones fail."  
Y: "Trust me, I know from  _both_  sides how they fail.”

  
  
_Capitalism (0:55:28)_  
Kaj: "Certainly  _looks_  like a black market."  
Mi: "I imagine you had to peruse such markets yourself."  
Kaj: "Back in the day. Sometimes it's still good when you want to be a bit more  _subtle,_ or you need to find something  _strange_ , otherwise the Net works just as well. As long as you're behind a few masks."  
Y: "They know how to keep their wares hidden, at least."  
KyoC: "You don't want something like that to be  _easy_  to find. Y'know, since it's kinda  _illegal_."  
A: "Capitalism finds a way. Even  _if_  it's some bullshit 'potency' powder made from Kaiju bone."  
Shrugging. "It's amazing what people believe."  
KyoS: "A belief like that is probably built up on the  _previous_  belief that the bonemeal of certain animals helps with...  _potency_. And it's always the rare ones too."  
They gave a few chuckles as Newt went off like a child in a candy shop. "If we didn't get his obsession  _before_." Muttered Sayaka.  
Z: "Pretty sure we  _all_  have obsessions like that." Looking out into the crowd. "Only most of the people here have it with  _other people_."  
Re: "Coming from  _you_."  
The first glimpse of Hannibal Chau was given.  
Sh: "So what gave it away he was the black market mastermind? Was it the  _gold plated snakeskin boots_?"  
Kaj: "Trust me, only the top of the chain looks like  _that_. Rest of them would be lucky to have a trenchcoat."  
E: "He would be pretty high up then. Considering this appears to be an organised operation as well."  
Ken: "He's probably done it for a while, now. Hell, we  _know_  he's done this for a while, as Pentecost is on the record as saying he  _deals_  with them for parts."  
Kaw: "That was why he sent Newt in the first place."

  
  
_Out of Phase_ (0:58:02)  
H: "I kinda expected there'd be some complaints about their sync."  
Ri: "Justified complaints. I'd probably make the same calls."  
KyoS: "Of course, we must consider that one, Mako has  _never_  synced before. And two, the last time Raleigh was in a Jaeger, his brother got  _killed_."  
Y: "Which is the position that  _Pentecost_  appears to take. Which is  _also_  justified."  
A: "Although, Chuck  _still_  makes a few good points."  
Mi: "Rookies can still do alright. Hell, just look at Shinji."  
Sh: "Even though mum took over from me my first time in Unit-01."  
Y: "Only protecting you, hon."  
Re: "I don't think it's a good idea having Chuck and Raleigh in close proximity to one another."  
KyoC: "It's kinda obvious, though. He's had a stick in his ass about Raleigh this whole time."  
Kaj: "Though as Ritsuko said, you  _can_  kinda  _justify_  his complaints."  
Sa: "Course, it probably doesn't help he's kinda...  _obsessed_  with the Jaeger."  
A: "Kinda like how  _I_  used to be. To him, piloting is probably his life."  
Raleigh socked Chuck after a particularly unsavoury comment aimed at Mako.  
A: "Okay, now  _that_  was justified. You show that son of a bitch!"  
Re: "And this was why I thought it wasn't a good idea." Deadpan. "Boys."  
Kaw: "We can be like that."  
Z: " _I'm_  like that as well. No one touches my darling."  
E: "I was  _programmed_  that way. Protecting my pilot and all that."  
The fighting was  _finally_  stopped by Hercules.  
Ma: "Y'know, I think  _all_  our shows has had fights stopped by someone in a higher position."  
KyoC: "Hell, even  _our_  show had a few fights between me and Sayaka stopped."  
Mi: "Course, it wouldn't help Pentecost's opinion on  _both_  of them. If they can let the testosterone get to their heads like that."  
Kaw: "I think it's  _instinctual_  at this point. Defending  _someone_  you like or love, not necessarily  _just_  a woman."  
A: "God knows it is to  _me_." A longing gaze at Shinji.  
Kyoko-san whispered to Yui. "We sure raised them right, didn't we?"  
Y: "If you could call it raising."

  
  
_Mistake_  (1:00:00)  
Kaw: "Speaking of defending, Raleigh trying to bail Mako out."  
Ri: " _Both_  of them had their issues during the sync test. But at least Raleigh had the training to get out of a RABIT. Mako didn't have that."  
E: "It might even take a while to  _learn_  such thing in the first place."  
Kaj: "But Pentecost has his reasons for grounding her. And he  _is_  the commander of the Hong Kong Shatterdome."  
Re: "Of course, he's not only grounding her for her inexperience."  
Mako's memory continued playing out.  
Revealing the fallen Kaiju.  
And a towering Jaeger, with Pentecost as one of its pilots.  
Z: "So he  _was_  a pilot."  
Sh: "It explains  _why_  he's so protective of her, at least."  
KyoC: "...After something like  _that_ , of  _course_  he'd be protective."  
Sa: "So they  _are_  related, in a way."  
KyoS: "I mean, I thought it obvious that if they  _were_  related, it'd be an adoptive relationship."  
Y: "He has his reasons for holding her back. One could  _justify_  it, actually. After what we've seen."  
H: "Of course,  _also_  like a commander, he doesn't let his emotions and past get in the way of doing his job."  
Mi: "That's what a commander does. You need to put aside things like that, the mission takes priority. And Pentecost knows that."  
A: "He kinda reminds me of Gendo, in some ways. With how cold he  _can_  be."  
Sh: "At least Pentecost loves Mako, in a way."  
Yui grimaced internally.

  
  
_Tapping_ (1:04:30)  
Zero Two simply shook her head as Raleigh explained the trauma of losing his brother.  
H: "Was that what you could feel as well?"  
Z: "...it was less fear and helplessness. It was more like them... slowing down. Fading, almost. Before the disconnect."  
Ri: "But that's one of the consequences you would have to deal with, in a dual sync system like this."  
KyoS: "You're letting someone tap into your mind. You need an  _insane_  amount of trust for that."  
A: "Especially knowing what goes on in  _our_  minds. Though, I have a few people I'd trust looking into me."  
Z: "Though he's right. It's the silence that gets to you."  
Sh: "Do you get that with Hiro, sometimes?"  
Z: "It helps that he's by my side almost all the time. But... sometimes I do miss having you in my head, darling."  
H: "Oddly enough, I do to. Can't really get much closer than that... Even  _with_  our little link."  
Y: "So your world's system was like the Jaeger, then."  
Z: "At least watching this, yeah. The way they sync up seems close."  
Ken: "So you're trying to implement dual sync in an Evangelion?"  
E: "The logic is there."  
Ma: "Actually, with  _two_  different materials showing something  _similar_ , that would be more evidence it's  _possible_ , right?"  
Kaj: "That or the universe decided to tease us with such a system."

  
  
_Double Event_ (1:06:10)  
H: "Well  _this_  is gonna be fun for the pilots."  
Re: "This would be the  _first_  double event  _ever_."  
A: "Oh yeah, this  _will_  be fun. Remember Shinji when we faced Israfel?"  
Sh: "And how we got our asses handed to us?" In deadpan.  
E: "You have low hopes."  
Mi: "They've had  _no_  training against doubles. Hell,  _we_  only had to start handling groups once the MP-Eva attacked."  
Ken: "Standard battle maxims still apply. Pacify them fast."  
Ma: "Pretty much  _our_  strat for the MP-Evangelion."  
Ri: "Course, it helps they're weak as butter, if you know  _how_  to attack them."  
KyoS: " _If_  you know."  
The Eva- Fra-  _Jaeger_  were deployed.  
KyoC: "...How the  _fuck_  can helicopters  _carry_  a Jaeger like that?"  
Kaw: "Considering the Evangelion require special  _planes_  to transport them."  
Z: "Hell, even the  _Franxx_  needed a heavy cargo jet for transport."  
Sa: "Well obviously, their world has helicopters capable of carrying  _thousands of tons_  of weight. And fair enough, they need like  _eight_  of them to carry a Jaeger."

  
  
_Temple_ (1:08:12)  
E: "I find it odd how  _that_  can be seen as a justification."  
Ri: "Well, when you don't  _have_  an explanation for the world, sometimes you  _need_  to have something to believe in. I  _think_  that's the purpose of religion."  
Kaw: "It's a common thought that  _that's_  the purpose of a belief like that. Of course, we can never really know for sure. The mind is an odd thing."  
KyoS: "We know, we have to study the damn thing."  
Kaj: "And even throughout all this Kaiju attack, they're  _still_  negotiating."  
Sh: "I'd think it odd the brains deteriorated  _that_  fast."  
Y: "I can see the logic behind it. Deprived of oxygen, a human brain's completely dead in 3 to 4 minutes. Odds are, the Kaiju brain is so  _massive_  that it dies off  _faster_  when lacking whatever fuels it, be it oxygen or anything else."  
A: "Not to mention the fact that, if  _I_  was a Jaeger pilot, I’d most likely  _aim_  for the brain myself. So even  _if_  it survived that long without oxygen, it would've probably been  _vaporised_  by the  _plasma cannon_."  
Z: "So the Kaiju don't have a core? Cause with the Klaxosaur, as long as the core was intact, it could continue functioning."  
Mi: "Evidently not. Though the  _Angels_  had cores as well. In fact I  _know_  of a scenario where an attack  _failed_  to destroy the core, and the Angel very nearly killed us all."  
Re: "What  _consequences_  would Drifting with a Kaiju have? Hannibal seems to think there's some."

  
  
_Attack_ (1:10:02)  
Whatever answer Rei could've gotten was put on the back-burner, as Crimson Typhoon was attacked.  
Asuka and Kyoko-san especially watching on in curiosity, as they had associated said Jaeger with Unit-02. "So how are they gonna fuck up?"  
KyoS: "Oh be a bit more optimistic, frau Asuka. They have  _three_  people in there, surely they'll do alright."  
Sa: "I would think it was hard enough synchronising  _two_  people, let along  _three_."  
Ri: "I mean, yeah. A  _tri-pilot_  system is  _completely_  insane. Unless your pilots were triplets, like the pilots of Crimson, or they were in some  _Ménage à trois_."  
E: "Not to mention they have to be compatible in the first place. The odds of finding a group that meet that criteria are extremely low."  
The Evangelion pilots gave a glance to the Puella that suggested  _they_  could do such thing, but they kept it silent. "I think Crimson Typhoon is doing alright so far." Spoke Shinji.  
Crimson threw the Kaiju away, and now it was the Soviet's problem.  
And indeed it  _was_  a problem, as Cherno Alpha immediately started having problems dealing with it.  
H: "Oh great. They're gonna die."  
Z: "I mean, they  _might_. There's always Stri-"  
Striker Eureka was ordered to hold its ground.  
Zero Two simply grumbled at the screen.  
Kaj: "Now you know how  _I_  feel when something I say gets disproved immediately."  
Of course, Striker Eureka though this was a  _stupid_  decision, and elected to ignore it.  
Which was good, because Crimson Typhoon was  _also_  experiencing problems with the Kaiju.  
Mi: "Y'know, I'd  _probably_  be a bit more caustic to their sortie if not for the fact they've had  _no_  experience with doubles."  
Y: "Though they still should've  _trained_  for such an even, I would think."  
Re: " _We_  only started training for group events after SEELE's first incursion."  
Kaw: "Even then, the training NERV  _did_  have was sub-par. At least according to what I saw."

  
  
_To shreds, you say?_  (1:11:57)  
Course, that help came all too late for Crimson, as its head was  _consumed,_ pilots and all.  
A: "...God  _damn_  it, they didn't do _anything_." Indignant.  
KyoS: "...Okay, maybe your lack of optimism was justified. They did  _nothing_."  
A: "This was exactly my anger during  _our_  show."  
E: "If an advanced unit like Crimson Typhoon fell that easily, Cherno Alpha's chances are _minuscule_. Especially given it might as well be a  _prototype_  model, like  _either_  Unit-00."  
Sh: "Either way, they'll try. What else could you do?"  
Cherno Alpha was  _also_  immediately put out of action, this time by  _acid_."  
Mi: "Oh, so it's  _Matarael_  now." She muttered.  
Z: "We never had to deal with  _that_  strong an acid."  
H: "Most of the girls would've  _preferred_  that kind of acid. I  _still_  don't know why they reacted like they did."  
A: "Girls. That's all you need to know."  
This kind of discussion was put to an end, as Cherno Alpha began to be double teamed by the Kaiju.  
E: "Odds of failure: 100%."  
Sa: "They'd be lucky to get out of this  _alive_  at this rate."  
Kaw: "At the  _very least_ , Striker Eureka is able to fight back."  
E: " _Their_  odds are low as well. One Jaeger against  _two_  of the  _strongest_  Kaiju they've seen? The odds of surviving this are approximately 3720 to 1."  
Y: "Of course you don't want  _them_  to know that."  
_'Was that_ another _Star Wars reference?'  
'Million typewriters, million apes, et cetera.'_ "Not that their attack helped Cherno."  
Ken: "What a predicament the Marshal is in. He has Striker, which is  _required_  in his master plan, and Gipsy, whose only pilots he  _grounded_."

  
  
_EMP_  (1:14:28)  
As if their situation couldn't get  _worse_ , one of the Kaiju set off an EMP.  
Ken: "That was a damn  _EMP_."  
Kaj: "One of the problems of relying too much on electronics."  
Kaw: "Of course, if they had an  _AT-Field_ , an EMP wouldn't do much."  
KyoS: "So  _now_  what do they do?  _How_  do you even  _restart_  a Jaeger after it's been EMP'd?"  
E: "I doubt they even  _thought_  about that. Considering this is an  _evolution_  of the Kaiju."  
Sh: " _And_  considering the power was also knocked out in the Shatterdome."  
Mi: "We've dealt with power cuts during battles before." A glare towards Kaji.  
A: "Well isn't  _that_  convenient for Gipsy Danger." Clenched teeth muttering, as if she was hanging a lampshade on how contrived it was.  
Ri: "I mean, the only digital aspects of a  _standard_  Evangelion are the Entry Plug systems. Hell, even the  _Magi_  aren't  _entirely_ digital; they're closer to analog if anything. It only needs to be properly digital if we're interfacing with  _other_  traditional computers or components."  
Ma: "Well, they  _are_  biocomputers. It's not like  _we_  run on an entirely digital state of mind."  
A: "And analog computers  _are_  a thing. It's just they've mostly been superseded by digital ones."  
H: "I find it odd, then, that they'd choose to implement such a design in Gipsy Danger."  
Sa: "If Gipsy was like that, then Cherno would've had that as well."  
KyoC: "Yeah, and look how well it went for them." Flat as the floor.  
And as the Kaiju approached the city of Hong Kong, they  _finally_  got an explanation  _why_  drifting with a Kaiju wasn't necessarily the greatest idea.  
Z: "Yeah, Hannibal has a point. Syncing like that works both ways."  
Re: "And if they're a hive mind..."  
Brief thoughts between the crowd reached the same conclusion. "He fucked up." Spoke Asuka.

  
  
_Godzilla_  (1:16:08)  
Y: "Oh, is this a Gojira film now?"  
KyoS: "It always  _was_." In deadpan. "But  _now_  it’s more evident."  
A: "Nothing like seeing some big bastard tear up the place."  
Sh: "Honestly, that's _all_  I remember the Toho films being about."  
Kaw: "It's why people  _watch_  them."  
Ri: "I'm sure  _that's_  a change for Newt, though. Having to bunker in a public shelter like that."  
A: "Yeah, they aren't  _that_  great. Though I think the Tokyo-3 ones had  _more_  space than that."  
The pilots of Striker Eureka decided to do something really stupid.  
E: "I think they plan on distracting the Kaiju."  
Z: "Not like there's much else you could  _do_  with a disabled Fr- Jaeger."  
Ma: "It'd keep it from the city, at least. For a bit."  
Ken: "The more time spent evacuating civilians, the higher chance less will die."  
They shot it in the eye with a flare gun.  
Sa: " _Or,_ they just piss it off, as he said, and die."  
But like it was Jesus, Gipsy Danger came floating down in angelic light.  
Kaj: "We  _get it_ , movie." Muttering at the obvious symbolism of it all.  
Re: "Considering  _our_ show's symbolism."

  
  
_Kick Ass_ (1:18:53)  
They saw as Gipsy Danger went to town. "Must say, they're doing alright."  
Ri: "They definitely made more progress than before, Misato."  
A: "Was that before, or  _after_  they were thrown halfway across Hong Kong?"  
H: "I mean, they're still standing. It's more than what we can say about Crimson or Cherno."  
Gipsy Danger  _continued_  wrecking the Kaiju.  
KyoC: "Not only are they standing, they're completely  _destroying_  this Kaiju!"  
KyoS: "Skill  _would_  count, but I still don't see  _why_  Gipsy would be better than Crimson."  
E: "Maybe the tri-pilot system has more caveats than the dual pilot system."  
Z: "I mean, meshing two brains together is already hard. It's why our world fostered relations between specific pilots. Now when you add a  _third_."  
Y: "We've already went through that, though. Of course, skill counts for  _something_."  
Sh: "Even  _aptitude_  would."  
Ma: "It'd be the only way to explain  _why_  Gipsy Danger was doing so well."  
Not only was it doing well, it did better than  _any other Jaeger_  deployed, on account of having actually  _killed_  one of the Kaiju.  
Re: "This isn't victory just yet."  
Kaw: "There's still the _other_ Kaiju, that Gipsy Danger will most likely have to face alone. Unless they can get Striker Eureka rebooted."  
Mi: "The way it sounds like, Striker won't be rebooted for  _hours_."

  
  
_Shelter_  (1:22:36)  
Rumbling shook the shelter.  
E: "How ominous."  
Re: "Maybe the Kaiju will break through the roof of the shelter."  
Kaw: "It definitely has that tension building vibe to it, this scene."  
The thumping further confirmed his theory.  
A: "So  _why_  aren't the shelters deep in the Earth like  _ours_?"  
Mi: "Well, for one, the presence of the  _Geofront_  helped shelters like that be  _possible_."  
Ri: "Indeed, they probably  _couldn't_  build a shelter as deep as  _we_  tend to have them."  
Ken: "And  _why_  would he rat himself out as being the target?"  
Sh: "Well, if  _he's_  what they want, there's no use killing others for it."  
The Kaiju broke through.  
Ma: "I mean, if an Angel  _really_  wanted to, they could've gone through the shelters like butter. Zeruel  _did_  that in an alternate scenario."  
Sa: "So they're a placebo." Deadpan.  
Kaj: "Maybe against the Angels, but against MP-Evangelion they're more than enough. I would think."  
Z: "Do what our world did and make the whole  _city_  a shelter."  
Ri: "Our _world_ doesn't have enough money to make even  _one_  plantation."  
Y: "Either way, Newt is damn lucky the Kaiju didn't immediately find and kill him."  
KyoS: "That would've been its plan. If they're a hive, then they know that  _he_  knows about their machinations."

  
  
_Battle_  (1:24:40)  
Gipsy Danger began attacking the  _other_  Kaiju.  
A: "Sometimes you  _have_  to use improvisation like that in battle."  
Sh: "I don't think we've ever used a  _tanker_  as a  _baseball bat_  though."  
H: "I don't think we  _ever_  had to improvise weapons like that, right Zero Two?"  
Zero Two shrugged. "We probably  _could've_ , but it's not like our battles even had much stuff we  _could've_  improvised with. And the only time we really fought in a city environment was that Super Lehmann, wasn't it darling?"  
Ri: "Even then, it was over when  _you two_  got your shit together."  
Z: " _And_  we had our own weapon."  
Mi: "Though it is always...  _difficult_  to explain when things end up where they shouldn't be. Like tankers in a street."  
Ma: "I'm sure, at this point at least, the Jaeger program doesn't give a damn about collateral damage."  
Ken: "In this situation,  _any_  damaged caused by the Jaeger is alright, because it'll invariably be  _less_  than what the  _Kaiju_  would've caused had it been allowed to roam free."  
E: "This is the logic that goes into  _any_  battle. While one should  _generally_  try to cause as little collateral damage as possible, some is admissible."  
Sa: "Hell, Tokyo-3 was  _designed_  with that in mind, wasn't it? With the collapsible skyscrapers and that."  
Ri: "Indeed, that's less buildings that could be damaged in battle. It's quite effective in reducing battle costs."  
KyoS: "I still need to  _see_  that with my own eyes, now I'm out of Unit-02."  
Sh: "It's quite amazing, the first time you see it."  
Y: "Actually, have we  _ever_  seen that? Usually when we'd get deployed, it was always  _after_  the city was put into battle configuration."  
H: "...This city does that?"  
Kaj: "It's a pretty cool system."

  
  
_Pinpoint_  (1:25:45)  
The Kaiju broke through a skyscraper and caught Gipsy Danger by surprised.  
Ri: "This is  _also_  a reason why the collapsible city system is good. Gives the enemy less places to hide."  
Mi: "And it also ensures the only damage caused would be to NERV property, like storage lockers."  
Ma: "Most of Tokyo-3  _is_  NERV property."  
E: "It would also reduce collateral. I find it hard to believe a Jaeger fist could tap a Newton's Cradle like that."  
A: "Eliza, that is what we call 'Hollywood magic'. They obviously put it in there for show."  
Z: "Especially with how sluggish and imprecise the Jaeger can be."  
Kaj: " _Any_  mecha design would be impossible to have  _that_  precision."  
KyoS: "Indeed. They aren't exactly engineered for  _that_  kind of precision."  
Mi: "Well look at that, they're doing what  _you_  did with Sandalphon, Asuka."  
Asuka gave a small smirk, as the Kaiju limb shattered. "It works quite well, doesn't it?"  
Ken: "It's definitely a way of getting free of its grasp."  
H: "I don't even know if the Franxx _had_  coolant."  
Y: "Logically, they would've  _had_  to, since they sound like  _our_  kinds of design."

  
  
_Wings (1:27:20)_  
A: "Okay,  _that's_  bullshit."  
Kaw: "The Angels could do things like that. Hide something of them so it hits the quarry harder when it least expects."  
Ri: "It's a proper strategy. Wings would've been this Kaiju's trump card, after it had been damaged enough."  
A: "Yeah, I know. But it's  _still_  bullshit when it happens." Grumbling.  
Sa: "Either way, that's  _not_  helping Gipsy's case right now."  
KyoC: "Hell,  _they_  probably think it bullshit as well."  
Mi: "Just about anyone would. But it's things like that you  _have_  to be ready for. The Angels were unpredictable, just as the Kaiju can be."  
Sh: "Although I don't think we were dragged into the  _upper atmosphere._ "  
Shrugging. "Not that it would've mattered, the Plugs are atmospherically sealed. Hell, the plug was the  _least_  problematic thing about going to space."  
Z: "I think ours were as well. Though I'm not too certain, cause that Klaxosaur acid got in there."  
Ma: "Judging from how Goro was able to survive inside that Klaxosaur, I would think they  _were_  atmospherically sealed. The acid was just able to seep through."  
Y: "I would think the  _Jaeger_  were as well. Considering they can function  _in water._ "  
KyoS: "It's certainly possible they cycle oxygen and carbon dioxide in and out of the cockpit, even if it were sealed. It's what the entry plug did after all, although it was more  _scrubbing_ carbon out of the carbon dioxide and recycling it th-"  
The conversation was halted when they saw Gipsy Danger  _bisect_  the Kaiju with a  _sword_.  
Ken: "...Holy  _shit_."  
Asuka had a grin to match Doomguy. "And  _this_  is why I like my axe."  
E: "Of course, the problem with  _killing_  the enemy holding you 60000 feet up, is that you're _falling_."  
Kaj: "They're even  _burning up_. They must be falling at  _speed_."  
Mi: "Obviously they're gonna survive this. After all the shit that happened, they better."  
A: "It's Hollywood, they aren't gonna kill them  _now_."  
  
Gipsy Danger impacted in the middle of a stadium, and it lived.  
A: "Heh. Told ya so. Must say,  _that_  was kinda satisfying."  
Sh: "Course, you'd prefer to do it yourself, wouldn't ya?"  
Asuka poked her tongue at Shinji. "Of  _course_  I would. Buuuut watching it is alright too."

  
  
_Hero's welcome_  (1:30:41)  
Kaw: "Even their  _welcomes_  are more cacophonous than what  _were_  used to."  
Ri: "Fair enough, they beat the odds and killed  _two_  Kaiju single handedly."  
KyoC: "At this point, they damn  _deserve_  it."  
Sa: "They've proven themselves at this point, too. The Marshal would be  _very_  happy at this."  
Mi: "As any commander would be. They get to live another day."  
A: "Maybe that would teach  _Chuck_  a bit of respect for those two, then."  
Re: "Nothing like beating someone up to teach them respect." A glance to Kaworu.  
Kaw: "I know this quite well.”  
Kaj: "Pretty sure  _all_  the men here know it." He was equally sardonic.  
Sh: "And look at that, Pentecost even says he's  _proud_  of Mako.  _That_  never happened to me."  
Y: "I know, Shinji." Flat. "He has a point though. At this stage, you can't celebrate or even  _grieve_. There'll be another attack."  
KyoS: "And based on how they've all been making it out, there'll be  _more_  Kaiju in  _less_  time."  
Ken: "The Marshal has a plan though. Hence why he wanted Striker Eureka out of the battle."

  
  
_Salvage_  (1:32:18)  
Mi: "Christ, they don't even have  _gloves_."  
Ri: "They're black market salvagers, do you really  _expect_  them to follow OHS?"  
H: "Not like  _we_  had to take samples."  
Z: "Though it helped the Klaxosaurs often became  _rain_  once the core was gone."  
Kaj: "They obviously have  _some_  brains behind this. They're trying to  _preserve_  the sensitive parts, at least."  
A: " _And_  they're trying to make their workers survive. Impressive."  
Y: "Indeed like  _any_  laparoscopic surgery. Except instead of using a probe,  _people_  are probes."  
Sh: "They should've probably  _expected_  the secondary brain be damaged."  
Another heartbeat became evident.  
Kaw: "Even the  _Kaiju's_  pregnant?"  
Re: "Odd, they're cloned tools yet they can reproduce."  
KyoC: "That just gives  _another_  Kaiju the chance to attack."  
Ri: "I'm pretty sure  _none_  of the Angels had reproductive organs."  
Kaw: "Reproduction goes against the general idea of the Fruit of Life. What use is reproducing if you will  _be,_  indefinitely?"  
Z: "And the Klaxosaurs never reproduced because they were  _weapons_. It was only the Klaxo Sapien that could reproduce."  
Sa: "There's a  _Klaxo Sapien_  now, great."

  
  
Hannibal decided to GTFO of there, as they witnessed the horrifying miracle of life.  
E: "Even as a newborn, the Kaiju can be deadly."  
Ma: "Well  _that's_  disgusting." She could hold her lunch for now.  
But this life, unfortunately or not, quickly came to an end.  
Rei shook her head, her Lilith side confused as to whether be disappointed at the waste of life or celebratory at it being a  _non-Lilith_  life. "...It choked on its own umbilical."  
Y: "...Brutal." While it  _was_  fictional and alien, it could  _still_  perturb any mother.  
Ri: "It probably wouldn't have survived long, anyway. It wouldn't have been to term. As Hannibal said, its lungs weren't formed."  
E: "And even this brief flash of life could've killed."  
Almost like Eliza was a prophet, the infant Kaiju came back from the dead and ate Hannibal.  
Eliza was just as confused as everyone else. "...Even  _after_  it apparently died."  
Z: "It's no big loss at this point." She was flippant about it. "He seemed kinda bad anyway."  
H: "This is why we're taught to make  _sure_  the enemy is dead. Otherwise something like  _that_  could happen."  
KyoC: "Well,  _now_  it should be dead. Unless it's doing this  _another_  time to get Newt."  
KyoS: "I wouldn't  _think_  it would. Unless this film wanted to parody itself." She muttered.

  
  
_Washroom_  (1:36:39)  
Ri: "Ah, so there  _is_  a consequence for running the Jaeger solo."  
Ma: "Course, they also mentioned  _radiation_. I doubt  _that_  would do the pilots any good."  
Ken: "Maybe  _that's_  why they named the Russian Unit  _Cherno_."  
Z: "Of course, running a dual system mecha  _solo_  causes that kind of stuff. I was practically  _insane_  when I ran Strelitzia solo."  
H: "Then again, it didn't cause  _permanent damage_ , did it?"  
Z: "It probably  _could've_ , in the long run. Maybe  _that's_  why they gave me Stamen to chew through."  
The bathroom terminal activated.  
KyoS: "Oh so they  _can_  do single diode holograms."  
A: "Not even mentioning they have holograms in what amounts to a  _bathroom_."  
Ken: "But obviously there's a  _reason_  they have terminals in the bathroom. To inform the Marshal of exactly  _that_."  
KyoC: "What, the fact that they're completely  _screwed_? It must not have been even  _half_  a day between the last Kaiju battle and the new breach."  
Kaw: "But they're not going anywhere. Protecting the breach, as they say."  
A: "Only reason why it'd need  _protection_  was if  _something_  important was coming through."  
Re: "And even through all this, the scientists are  _still_  arguing."  
Sh: "They might as well have never stopped." He was flat.  
Ri: "Argument is a good way to get theorem across, of course we generally argue with writing, not shouting."  
Ma: "Maybe men do it differently." She shrugged. "Either way, it  _sounds_  like they'll finally bury the hatchet on  _whatever_  problems they have."  
Sa: "Like a Jaeger pilot, as... shit, what was his name again?"  
E: "Newton Geiszler is the one with glasses, Hermann Gottlieb is the one without."  
Sa: "They aren't really  _memorable_ , to me at least. And it doesn't help the  _subtitles_  are referring to Newton as  _Newt_."  
A: "I mean, it's  _German_. Always with the German names."  
KyoS: " _I'm_ certainly used to it, Asuka."

  
  
_Scramble_  (1:39:22)  
KyoC: "And look at the war clock,  _three hours_  has elapsed since the last Kaiju attack."  
Z: "Okay,  _that's_  a bit insane, admittedly."  
H: "We could at least measure time between sorties in  _days_."  
Chuck's co-pilot was revealed.  
Kaw: "Ah, so he  _is_  getting back in the saddle."  
Ri: "What other choice is there? Even  _if_  it kills him."  
A: "He's not gonna survive until the end of the film, right?"  
Ri: "Not a chance."  
Y: "...Not that it helps Mako."  
Sh: "...At least he's going on his own terms. And doing it to protect the world."  
H: "Kinda like  _us_ , wasn't it?"  
Sa: "And she'll get to protect him as well."  
KyoS: "They did mention a bomb. This… this is a suicide mission, isn't it?"  
E: "Chuck would know this as well. And his father."  
Mi: "Jesus. That would be rough on him."  
Ken: "And to think. It would've been  _both_  of them, had Hercules been uninjured."  
Pentecost gave his requisite inspirational speech to the gathered.  
A: "Admittedly, 'Cancelling the apocalypse' is an awesome phrase that I need to remember."  
Re: "Quite a shame we didn't know it during all the other apocalypses we cancelled."  
Mi: "We should have  _that_  as a counter, instead. 'Number of failed apocalypses' and 'Number of successful apocalypses'."  
Sh: "The ones we've seen in  _other_  material don't count, right?"  
Mi: "Why else do you think i'd include a  _successful_  apocalypses tally?"

  
  
_Father and Son_  (1:42:30)  
Z: "Marshal has a good strategy for Drifting. Less you drag in, the better you can mesh yourself."  
H: "Helps if you're syncing with someone you don't usually sync with. Though  _one_  of the pairs can  _still_  drag something up that throws you off."  
Kaw: "What happened during your sync with Ichigo, right?"  
Hiro gave a short nod. "I think it was both of us. She had her feelings for me, and I had mine for Zero Two, even back then."  
KyoC: "Was your friend really named  _strawberry_? Who named her?"  
H: "I did."  
Kyoko-chan just looked at him bemused.  
Misato looked downward as the scene played, dejected and soft. "I knew this would be hard on Herc."  
Kaj: "You can see it in his eyes. He  _knows_  his son will, in all likelihood, not come back _._ "  
Ken: "...There's not one great sadness, then the father losing a son."  
Ri: "Which is why we _avoid_ suicide missions. Especially  _now_."  
A: "...If it came down to it, if there was no other way-"  
Mi: "Then I'd  _find_  another way.  _Fuck that_. I'm not deliberately sending my pilots to die."  
The old guard gave Misato their silent approval.  
E: "Even the most stoic of people could be bought low by such emotion."  
Ma: "...If anything, Herc's holding it together quite well."  
Re: "It's like him. It shows incredible strength and resolve to not buckle at such a thing."  
Y: "The kind of resolve you'd  _expect_  in a pilot."

  
  
_Deployment_  (1:44:23)  
As if to drive the point home, a majority of them grimaced at the nuclear symbol on Striker's back.  
H: "What's  _that_  symbol?"  
Ri: "Radioactivity. Such a particle is unstable naturally, and gives off energy as  _other_ , smaller particles or radiation until it decays into a stable form. But the key thing to get from this is, there's a  _lot_  of energy that can be released from a nuclear device."  
Z: "So… a high powered explosive."  
Kaw: "Think of it like the device _you_ handled."  
If the Franxx pilots didn't understand the significance of that before, they sure as hell did  _now_.  
But that was put to the wayside for now, as they witnessed the scientists attempt something insane.  
A: "Well  _that's_  convenient."  
Sh: "I'm pretty sure we're used to contrivances by now, Asuka."  
Re: "Considering you could classify us  _knowing_  about Rogue-00 as a contrivance."  
Sa: "So  _how_  is it not gonna work? They haven't told us."  
Kaj: "We don't get told a lot of things with these kinds of media."  
Ma: "Ah, so they  _aren't_  normally waterproofed."  
E: "They have the capability, though. Which would be quite handy, considering the Evangelion don't have the capability to operate underwater without special equipment."  
KyoS: "Consider the Evangelion was  _designed_  to work on  _dry land._ "  
Ri: "So that means they  _could've_  worked in high altitudes then."  
Y: "Hang on a minute,  _why_  aren't the sensors on the Jaeger fast enough to pick up the fast moving Kaiju, but the ones at the Shatterdome  _can_?"  
Mi: "That doesn't even make  _sense_. How could the Shatterdome know of the Kaiju without using the Jaeger's as proxies? Unless they have some  _monster_  satellites."  
KyoC: "Considering they  _know_  when Kaiju come through the breach, they probably  _can_  monitor something like that  _without_  a Jaeger. I'm guessing you guys couldn't?"  
Ri: "Not  _that_  deep in the ocean."

  
  
_Barcode_  (1:47:54)  
Sh: "So  _that's_  why it won't work."  
Mi: "It makes sense.  _Why_  would they allow non-Kaiju through? The whole  _point_  of whatever alien species is sending the Kaiju through is to take over  _Earth_."  
Ri: "The Dirac doesn't have  _that_  kind of restriction, however."  
KyoS: "Odds are, these alien beings can  _manipulate_  the Dirac."  
Sa: "It also waves away why they couldn't just  _bomb_  it away."  
E: "Which is also what you could  _normally_  do with a Dirac Sea."  
A category 5 was declared, and out of the breach came a Kaiju that would make Zeruel blush.  
A: "It just gets worse and worse, doesn't it?"  
KyoC: "Most of our shows could be described like that, y'know."  
Z: "Well, it's gonna get worse before it gets better."  
Re: " _Our_  show never got better."  
Y: "It's good then that  _this_  isn't our show."  
Kaw: "Knowing Hollywood films, they won't end it on a bad note."  
Sa: "What, do the Americans not like sad and bittersweet endings?"  
Re: "Not necessarily  _sad_ , but it's mainly the endings that fuck over the people in them."  
Kaj: "At least, that's the stereotype."  
Mi: "They stereotype  _us_ , we stereotype  _them_."  
Ken: "If anything, they're more adverse to stereotyping  _anyone_  than  _we_  are."  
This sort of argument would've continued, had it not been for Gipsy Danger not being blindsided by a Kaiju.

  
  
_Final Fight_  (1:49:13)  
Y: "I'm amazed how fast they can move  _underwater_."  
A: "Especially considering they probably  _aren't_  meant to fight with such pressure on them."  
Ri: "Well, considering they're meant to work on the  _surface_ , I'd say they needed to handle between 0 and 1 atmospheres of pressure without any additional hardware."  
KyoS: "At least the production model, it can handle up to 2 atmospheres of pressure. Of course, this is a moot point anyway, as they can't work underwater at  _all_  without the Type-C equipment."  
The two Jaegers were getting completely destroyed by the Kaiju.  
Ken: "Not that it helps  _those_  poor bastards."  
Sh: "I'm getting some deja vu here."  
Until Gipsy managed to split one head to toe.  
Asuka was grinning like a madwoman.  
Kaj: "Of course  _you're_  excited for that. Not like it _killed_ it."  
Z: "Doesn't help Striker."  
E: "Not only are they under attack, their Jaeger has  _several_  issues with it now."  
Ka: "I'm guessing the  _armed nuclear warhead_  is one of them."  
KyoC: "So what will Pentecost do, then?"  
On her command, he explained.  
Much to the perturbation of the gathered. "So they're gonna go _nuclear_ to get rid of the other Kaiju." Thought Kensuke.  
H: "...Which would leave Gipsy Danger to finish the job. As it uses the same energy source as the bomb."  
Re: "Of course, this means that Gipsy Danger might have to... sacrifice itself."  
Zero Two shared a few significant looks with her darling  _and_  Rei. "...If it's to... get the job done."  
Ri: "At this point, success is  _needed_. Otherwise humanity is done."  
Ma: "...Do you think they'll actually kill them off?"  
Kaw: "It  _is_  Hollywood. But... then again. If they wanted it to be  _accurate_  to... our  _own_ shows."  
Yui could barely hide emotion, seeing Hercules' reaction, as the pilots of Striker Eureka made their decision.  
And like that, Striker Eureka was no more.  
Much to the mourning of the gathered. "...Til Valhalla."  
E: "Gipsy's critical. But... they have what they need now."  
Ken: "…They might have a chance, then."

  
  
_Once More Unto the Breach_  (1:54:31)  
Between the breach and the critical Gipsy Danger was the category 5.  
KyoS: "At this point,  _that_  won't stop them."  
Z: "Something like this would've made them  _more_  determined."  
H: "To make sure Striker's sacrifice wasn't in vain."  
Kaw: "This is more about  _survival_  at this point. They fail, humanity is done."  
Despite the determination of the category 5, it gave up the ghost soon enough.  
And then they were in.  
A: "Hell yeah."  
Re: "At this point, even if they  _do_  have to... sacrifice themselves. It wouldn't be in vain."  
E: "It wouldn't be a return trip. Would it?"  
H: "...Ours wasn't."  
Raleigh made his decision.  
Mi: "Of  _course_  he chooses to save her."  
Kaj: "He would. It's in his character."  
Ri: "Of course, maybe he could've used an extra helping hand."  
Ma: "How the hell does the  _self-destruct button_  break?"  
KyoS: "I mean, it's not exactly a core system. It's a method of last resort."  
Y: "Plus, Gipsy Danger's kinda in a bad way right now."  
E: "If I were to estimate, Gipsy is currently running at around 20% capacity."

  
  
_Nuclear Football_ (~1:57:00)  
Raleigh continued to struggle setting off the Jaeger.  
Sa: "It doesn't help the Jaeger seems to have  _no_  safety at all."  
Ri: "Safety takes a backseat when you're  _saving the world_."  
KyoC: "Though it would really  _suck_  if he was blended  _now_ , without detonating it. Be kinda a shitty death, wouldn't it?"  
A: "If he died like  _that_ , I would've thrown this machine down the pyramid."  
Lucky for him, he merely delayed his death by setting the manual reactor override.  
Kaw: "Though they aren't  _in_  the breach anymore. They're in the realm of whatever progenitive race was  _sending_  the Kaiju."  
A: "I mean, it'd still  _work_. And by the looks of it, he's  _deliberately_  making a show of it for them!"  
Ken: "Oh, so he actually  _does_  use an escape pod."  
Sa: "At this point, who knows if not only he'll escape the blast, if the breach will remain open long enough for him to get back."  
Mi: "Either way, lets watch the fireworks!"

  
  
_Collapse_  (1:59:06)  
Misato gave a small chuckle, at the carnage that was brought to the progenitors. "Fuck yeah."  
E: "I'm amazed how that worked. Then again, most of  _our_  plans don't  _appear_  to work."  
Ri: "Sometimes, Eliza, a plan is so insane that it  _will_  work."  
Ma: "Now all that's left to see is if Raleigh survives."  
Z: "Even if he…  _doesn't_  at this point. The war's won."  
The first pod came up.  
Ken: "Kinda expected  _her_  to survive. Of  _course_  Raleigh would do that."  
Y: "…No vitals on the second pod."  
KyoS: "He would have to be  _extremely_ lucky to have survived something like that."  
Kaw: "It was extremely lucky in the first place his pod even  _returned_  to Earth. He must've made it just before the breach closed up."  
A: "Though people  _can_  come out of Dirac Seas and live."  
Kaj: "Didn't he use up all his vitals anyway? I doubt there was much oxygen remaining."  
Z: "I doubt they can do any sort of resuscitation in those suits anyway."  
Ri: "That's one of the advantages of the plugsuits you two and  _our_  pilots wear. In case they've gone blue, you can  _immediately_ work on them."  
Sh: "So I'm guessing armour like that is out of the question?"  
Re: "We don't  _need_  armour. The Evangelion  _is_  our armour."  
Raleigh woke up from apparently having no pulse like it was a power nap.  
Y: "Now  _that's_  some power of love bullshit if I'd ever seen."  
Ri: "As they say, the sensors could've been shot. If he  _actually_  coded, he wouldn't have come back  _this_  easily."  
Sa: "He  _did_. Mako couldn't find a pulse."  
Ma: "Maybe she did it wrong."  
Kaw: "It's all Hollywood, anyway. They like these kinds of endings."  
  
_Marshal_  Hercules Hansen stopped the clock.  
Mi: "Now  _that's_  satisfying."  
Ri: "They  _finally_  ended their war. There's no longer a need for such clock."  
E: "No more Kaiju. It seems all the sacrifices were  _not_  in vain."  
Y: "Herc knows that. But... I imagine it'll still be hard on him."  
A: "Chuck, asshole he was,  _still_  died saving the world. It's like with Nine Alpha."  
Realisation washed over Zero Two. "...it  _is_  like him, isn't it?"  
KyoS: "It'll be hard on Mako as well. Pentecost was essentially her father."  
Sh: "It's a good thing she still has _Raleigh_ then."  
  
(2:02:20)  
~~~

 

"Guillermo del Toro, what kind of name is that?"  
  
"American. Mexican, maybe?" Kaji answered Kyoko-chan's query. "Either way, I don't think he did that bad a job. It's like a tribute to the classic mecha."  
  
"I mean, it's very obvious he Americanised this to _shit_ , but overall I think it was alright." Coming from Asuka, that might as well be an A+.  
  
"I don't think it built up the world as much as  _our show_  did, but then again, this was a  _movie_." Spoke Kyoko-san. "So you'd  _expect_ them to cut a few corners."  
  
"A show of this would be interesting. But it's difficult to adapt a show to cinema, and vice versa. We can see this with our  _other_ movies."  
  
"And it's not like  _either_  of our material was Hollywood, either. It's all been Japanese." Rei thought, answering Kaworu. "...Actually, this is the  _first_  such Rift material that  _isn't_  Japanese in origin, is it?"  
  
The realisation hit Maya. "...It is? Why  _this_  of all things?"  
  
Hiro thought. "I mean, it's probably  _lucky_  we started with something like  _this_. Since it's similar to  _our_  show."  
  
" _Really_  similar, actually." Zero Two rolled on from her darling. "Almost like this would've been how Holly Wood made  _our_  show."  
  
"Hang on a minute, why do you  _all_  get mecha and  _we_ were stuck with a Mahou Shoujo?"  
  
"Oh it wasn't  _that_  bad, Ken. Sure it traumatised the hell out of us, but  _as_  a Mahou Shoujo it was way  _better_  than the ones I saw."  
  
"Then again, Sayaka, the only one we've seen recently was  _Sailor Moon_. And just about  _anything_  is better than that." Kyoko-chan deadpanned.  
  
"Sailor Moon isn't  _that_  bad.  _I_  remember watching it when I was younger."  
  
Coming from  _Yui_ , that just proved Kyoko-chan's point, in her mind. "What's the time, anyway? This movie went on a bit, didn't it?"  
  
Around half a dozen people looked down at phones or at watches, but Eliza was the first to answer.  _"2210. The movie went for approximately two hours."_  
  
"Getting on a bit, isn't it?"  
  
_"And the sequel will be just as long, if not_ longer _."_  
  
Sayaka and the other Puella looked between themselves. "I mean, we  _should_  get going. I don't think Ken's dad would appreciate us rocking up at 3 in the morning, even  _if_  it was on NERV business."  
  
Shrugging from the crowd. "You sure Kensuke here won't mind seeing  _another_  two hours of giant robots fighting whatever?"  
  
"Now, normally I  _would_." Kensuke gave a small glance to the puella, who were giving him an amorous look. "But these two are...  _convincing._ "  
  
Misato gave a chuckle. "Get going you scamps. See ya whenever!"  
  
"See ya!"  
  
And they left the room.  
  
"Are they  _always_  like that?" Once they left the room, Kyoko-san could begin prodding her daughter for information.  
  
"You don't know the half of it, mama."  
  
"Although considering  _we're_  like that as well." Kaworu said, with Rei giving him the required light punch on the arm.  
  
"Oh, we know  _that_  much." Yui gave a smirk and a small huff. "Teenagers."  
  
Then they came back. "Uhhh, do you know where the station is?"  
  
Ritsuko, rolling her eyes, answered. "Down the hall, take the elevator to G2, follow the signs to the tram, and take that to the station. Your passes will allow you on and it'll take you to the surface."  
  
"Thanks Doctor!"  
  
And they left the room. Again.  
  
"...Next disc?"  
  
Ritsuko got up, and just before she was gonna kick the server stack, half the group shouted "STOP!"  
  
Rits  _would've_  muttered in an indignant fashion, but she could see with her own eyes that an after credits scene was playing out.  
  
"Aww, he  _does_  survive." Asuka was rather indignant at the scene. "Worst film ever."  
  
Ritsuko kicked the stack, ejecting the disc. "Might wanna talk amongst yourselves for a minute."

* * *

 

 


	2. Jäger 2

* * *

 

##  1\. Train

Thanks to Ritsuko's advice, it didn't take too long for the Puella to find the station.  
  
And for Sayaka and Kyoko to fall asleep on Kensuke's shoulders.  
  
Kensuke, too, had his eyelids beginning to droop, even  _with_  his mind working overtime with all the events of today. An apprenticeship at NERV, he still found it hard to believe.  
  
Of course, that kick ass Hollywood mecha was pretty sick as well.  
  
It was in this half sleepy state that he noticed something odd, underneath the seat in front of him. A small book, akin to a small novel.  
  
Checking to see if there was anyone else on the train (there wasn't), he used his foot to get the book closer to him, on account of him not wanting to wake the Puella.  
  
The cover was grey, with no other discernible markings on cover or spine.  
  
So he did what anyone would do, and began reading.  
~~~

  
  
Asuka's patience was officially worn thin. "Okay, if there was  _one_  thing Kensuke could've done, it would've been making the machine  _faster_."  
  
Ritsuko shrugged. "It hasn't crashed."  
  
"Or caught fire." Maya rolled on.  
  
_"In all honesty, as long as it_ eventually _works, it's fine. Considering what we're dealing with."_  
  
"I'm assuming most computers  _aren't_  like this."  
  
"Those phones we had would've been  _better_ , darling."  
  
"I like how we're roasting the  _machine_  instead of the  _movie._ "  
  
"Kaji, the movie hasn't  _started_ ,  _because_  of the machine."  
  
"We've been here for almost an  _hour_. It better start working soon or I'm gonna fall asleep."  
  
On Zero Two's behest, the machine  _finally_  started playing the next disc.  
  
"Looks like it heard your plea." Remarked the elder candle, somewhat amused it was _her_  complaint that seemingly pushed the Ultradisc player into working, and not anyone else's.  
  
"Now lets hope it  _continues_  working." Yui joined in with the roasting.  
  
"Oddly enough, once the machine got started, it never broke down  _during_  play."  
  
"Convenient, ain't it Kaworu?" Implied Asuka, through teeth. "Like the universe is giving us a break,  _for once_."  
  
Shinji rolled eyes. "Shame it's during  _these_  things instead of when it would  _matter_."  
  
"Maybe this is the start of our lucky streak." Rei spoke, stone cold, knowing full well she had just bought the wrath of Murphy onto themselves.  
  
_"You realise Murphy will pay us a visit now?"_  
  
To which she gave a small smirk.

* * *

 

#  2\. Pacific Rim: Uprising

 

**Character Key:**  
PILOTS: Shinji (S) Asuka (A)  
ANGELS: Rei (Re) Kaworu (Kaw)  
OVERSIGHT: Misato (Mi) Kaji (Kaj)  
ADMINISTRATORS: Ritsuko (Ri) Maya (Ma) Eliza (E)  
OLD GUARD: Yui (Y) Kyoko-san (Kyo)  
FRANXX: Hiro (H) Zero Two (Z)  
  
  
_Planet_  (0:00:00)  
A: "Oh so now it's  _Universal_  doing the movie? What happened to Warner Brothers!?"  
Kaj: "Is this even a  _sequel_ , then? Or even from the same  _universe?_ "  
Kaw: "I would  _think_ , since it came  _with_  the first one. Then again, we  _have_  an example of  _our_  media coming from a different studio but the  _same_  person."  
Y: "Wait, there's  _another_?"  
Ri: "Oh yeah, the theatrical.  _That's_  a wild ride."  
E: "How could  _another_  one starring you be  _worse_  than what already occurred?"  
Re: "They managed it." Shrugging. "I do believe this  _is_  a sequel. Legendary continues to work on this film."

  
  
_Born into War_  (0:00:51)  
S: "Yeah, join the club."  
H: " _We_  were born  _because_  of war."  
E: "He sounds different to anyone in the first film."  
Kyo: "Well this will probably be our main character, then."  
A: "But  _who_  is this guy anyway? He wasn't mentioned in the-"  
Mi: "Patience, young Padawan. The movie would explain that, otherwise we wouldn't have  _any_  relation with the protagonist."  
Z: "So this is just a recap of the first movie, right?  _Why_  does it need recapping?"  
Kaw: "Well, with movies, there can be long spans of time in between sequels. And considering the timespan between these two movies must've been significant enough to warrant  _changing studios_."  
Kaj: "We get a proper name for those alien things, at least. Precursors."  
Re: "I wonder where they took  _that_  name from." A not so hidden accusation.  
Ma: "What, you think the Laserdiscs ended up in Grillman's pocket?"  
E: "Did you mean Guillermo del Toro?"  
Ma: "American names are hard." A poor defence.  
Mi: "Hang on a minute, Pentecost had a  _son_?"  
A: "Amazing, right? How on Earth did someone like  _him_  get in someone's pants?"  
Y: "And how on Earth did we not  _know_  about him  _last_  film?"

  
  
_Ten Years Later_  (0:01:46)  
Kaji was a mixture of disappointed and amused. "Good to see he's living up to his father's name."  
Mi: "How did that saying go? Hard times build hard men, hard men build good times, et cetera?"  
Kaw: "Something along those lines. Wartime builds character. For example, how the world boomed after both World War 1  _and_ 2."  
E: "And it's reasonable to assume, with the time elapsed, the world  _would_  recover. I'm sure _this_  world would recover to such an extent a decade after the end of the  _Angel_  war."  
A: "Not like the world even had to  _deal_  with the Angels that much."  
Y: "Of course, as young Pentecost said, some of the coastal cities would've  _never_  recovered."  
Kyo: "Lord knows that held true for  _this_ world."  
H: "So what, after the Kaiju were defeated and his papa  _died_ , he did nothing but  _party_?"  
Ri: "I doubt he would  _just_  be partying. He has to fund this lavish lifestyle  _somehow_."  
Ma: "And I doubt he's a Jaeger pilot with  _that_  discipline."  
S: "He has  _no_  discipline at all."

  
  
_Hustle_  (0:02:25)  
Kyo: "Oh so  _that's_  what he does. He trades priceless artefacts for  _corn syrup_."  
Kaj: "Now I know American products are all made from corn syrup, "  
Misato clearly expected him to continue. "...And?"  
A: "Already this has  _more_  product placement than the Gottverdammt  _Theatrical_  movies. I don't think I've  _ever_  had  _any_  of the products he's traded for."  
E: "I don't get the value system. How would a  _car_  be worth a box of Sriracha? What  _is_  Sriracha anyway?"  
Mi: "It's a spicy Thai sauce. I used it with my curries all the time."  
S: "You must've used whole  _bottles_  of the stuff. Maybe you should ask  _him_  for that."  
H: "So they  _steal_  things, then trade it in for stuff with intrinsically  _lower_  value?"  
Kaji gave a huff. "When there's a lack of stability, some things become worth a lot more."  
Re: "I would probably value a  _car_  over  _hot sauce_. I doubt Misato would trade in her Alpine for Sriracha."  
Mi: "It'd have to be a  _lot_  of it."  
Rei gave a disappointing look to her guardian, who merely poked her tongue. "At least a shipping container's worth."  
Y: "Not only stealing and trading  _regular_  consumer consumables.  _Jaeger_  technology."  
Ri: "Needless to say, that would  _not_  be allowed here.  _Any_  decommissioned Evangelion technology is immediately sent to Terminal."  
Z: "And not to a scrapyard? That was similar in  _my_  world, except the decommissions were rapid, unplanned and you could expect to get  _no_  salvage from it."  
Kaw: "I find it difficult to believe people could build their own Jaeger as well. Considering the immense resources required to  _build_ one, let along  _operate_  one."  
Ma: "They'd probably have to be minuscule in comparison. And in their world, where authority is maybe not as strong as  _our_ world."  
Kyo: "Still,  _I_  wouldn't leave decommissioned Jaeger technology in an  _open scrapyard_."

  
  
_Salvaging_  (0:03:19)  
Re: "This isn't Jake Pentecost's first time stealing Jaeger technology."  
Asuka realised that the main character's name hasn't even been  _spoken_. "Did you use your Nephilim powers to pick up on his name?"  
Re: "No, the subtitles named him."  
It was only then she  _read_  the subtitles, as she  _could_  get along fine with her base English skills, for now at least. "Ah. Still,  _why_ haven't they said his name yet?"  
One of the salvagers pulled a gun on him.  
Kaj: "Well if he's unlucky, we won't ever find out."  
Mi: "You dealt with that before?"  
Kaj: "Yes, which is why you  _always_  have a gun on yourself, when you're out doing these  _errands_."  
Y: "Obviously it's not the first time Jake's been on the  _wrong_  end of a gun as well."  
Kyo: "With how the salvager makes it out, Jake  _deserved_  to be on the wrong end of a gun."  
Kaj: "Odd thing that. Most people don't like being cheated out of something promised. General principle's a wonderful thing."  
A: "Ah, so he's a rogue. Like Han Solo."  
Z: "Y'know we won't get the references you say."  
Shinji gave a wry smile. "Maybe we'll have to raid a video store."  
Mi: "He's not a  _good_  rogue."  
Kaw: "He probably  _would_  have a way out of a situation like this."

  
  
_Way Out_ (0:04:17)  
Asuka could hardly suppress amusement at how Murphy decided to shit on Jake. "Well he better enact that escape plan of his, otherwise he'll become a false protagonist."  
Jake was socked.  
Sh: "Great, not even... how far are we in?"  
E: "Not even five minutes."  
Sh: "Not even  _five minutes_  and he's dead."  
Shinji, thank God, was proven wrong when the salvagers proved incompetent enough to  _not_  kill him.  
Y: "How does the decommissioned Jaeger still have  _power_? I would imagine the  _first_  thing out of a Jaeger would be what  _powers it_."  
Kyo: "Wouldn't even be an issue if they  _didn't_  have nuclear reactors or Gottverdammt  _diesel_."  
Ma: "Maybe keeping the systems powered prevents it from, oh I don't know,  _going nuclear_."  
Z: "I mean, it seems inefficient keeping an unused system  _powered_."  
Kaw: "I wouldn't be surprised if, after your sorties, the Franxx were drained of  _all_  magma."  
H: "No, they kept them fuelled. Never know when you had to sortie, so it was a case of better safe than sorry."  
Z: "Would've been a bit anticlimactic if we stole Strelitzia that one time, only to have it not have any fuel."  
Re: "You would've probably been dead as well. Like  _Jake_  will be if he doesn't escape."  
A trapdoor was pulled.  
Kaj: "Wait, hang on,  _why_  would a Jaeger system  _have_  trapdoors like that?"  
E: "That's not even my question at the moment.  _How_  are the internals of a Jaeger so  _spacious_?"  
Ri: "I mean, space helps with fixing it. Not like the  _Evangelion_  has much space to move around in."  
Kyo: "Not like the Evangelion is that  _mechanical_  to begin with. I would  _expect_  there to be  _some_  living space  _in_  the Jaeger itself, if only to allow  _maintenance_  of it."

  
  
_Chase_  (0:06:29)  
Jake meanwhile attempted the classic Hollywood manoeuvre of jumping to a crane cable, and was aptly rewarded with a tumbling down that made most of the gathered grimace.  
Mi: "I  _would_  say this isn't Hollywood. But  _Universal_  is as Hollywood as you can get, really."  
E: "It's amazing how  _incompetent_  the guards guarding this scrapyard are."  
Kaj: "People can be sneaky. Though I wouldn't exactly call  _leaving on a dirt bike_  sneaky. You'd want to go in and out, like a shadow. So no evidence of your presence remains."  
Kaw: "Of course, a speedy getaway could be a good contingency."  
A: "This  _wasn't_  contingency, by the looks of it. They would've had to sneak that bike  _in_  to use it as a getaway vehicle."  
Kyo: "Either way, whoever stole whatever Jake was looking for, they're not that smart about it. If someone like  _Jake_  could  _track the damn thing_."  
Sh: "If  _he_  could track it."  
Everyone got that implication, and most started giving a low laugh. "Oh  _this_  is gonna be fun."  
Ma: "Not for the people who stole it."  
Mi: "Yeah, but then again,  _they stole it!_ "

  
  
_Warehouse_  (0:07:00)  
This mystery thief eventually made it to a safe zone.  
Kaj: "Of  _course_  it's an old warehouse. Where  _else_  would people do business like that?"  
Ri: "Didn't  _you_  do warehouse runs?"  
Kaj: "It was mainly dilapidated houses. Where  _no one_  would go looking."  
Jake snuck in through an  _open window_.  
Z: "I'm sure wherever  _you_  did your  _business_ , it was more secure than  _this_."  
Kaj: "I see you're learning to be as wry as us."  
Kaw: "And he's  _still_  not being quiet about it. I am sure  _they_  would've heard rustling."  
Y: "And in a situation like  _this_ , I'd want to be as antsy and suspicious as possible."  
A: "Well, if you're doing illegal shit, not like the law will help you."  
As Jake looked around this person, who might've been yandere for the Jaeger, power relays activated.  
E: "Power usage can be monitored. I'm sure  _that_  would've blown their cover a long time ago."  
Kyo: "Since people can operate  _private Jaegers_  now, I wouldn't put it past them to bypass the grid somehow."  
S: "I'd say it  _wise_  to use your own power source. Because power usage on the scale of a  _Jaeger_  would surely be noticed by the utilities company."  
Ma: "If they even  _had_  utilities in the area. Considering how dilapidated that world  _continues_  to be in some places."  
The Jaeger came into view.  
H: "That's  _tiny_!"  
Re: "It may be small, but it's  _still_  a Jaeger. You  _could_  do some serious harm with it."  
Eliza pondered. "Why  _would_  a private civilian  _need_  a Jaeger?"  
Mi: "They  _don't_." Flat. "They're  _war machines_. It's like a civilian owning a  _tank_."  
Kyo: "Then again, this is America. They probably open carry rocket launchers and shit like that."

  
  
_Pacify_  (0:08:23)  
Kaji smirked. "Street smarts, general principle, whatever you want to call it. Jake has a  _lot_  of it."  
The identity of the masked thief was revealed, and immediately started throwing shade.  
Asuka and her mama both giggled. "For being a Fräulein, she did alright for herself."  
Kaj: "Alright? She damn well  _stole_  Jaeger tech from under the noses of the government! That's pretty damn  _impressive_  for someone  _her_  age."  
E: "That's all well and good, but did she have the smarts to disable the tracking of the part she stole? This is a rhetorical question, because we all know the answer."  
Ri: "And as Shinji said. If  _he_  could track it with what amounts to a GPS, then I'm certain Pan Pacific has the resources to track it."  
Y: "Especially since I'd call that part  _valuable_  enough to warrant tracking it down."  
Speaking of tracking it down, sirens.  
A: "Well, there's only  _one_  way they'd get out of there that  _isn't_  handcuffs or a body bag."  
Re: "The Jaeger."  
Ri: "How does a kid like her even _build_  a Jaeger? That just baffles me how  _open source_  something  _like_  the Jaeger can get."  
Kyo: "She's intelligent. Shame she's applying it in a not so legal way."  
Ma: "Maybe the PPDC would have use for her."  
Z: "A  _single pilot Jaeger_  as well? I suppose it  _is_  small enough it  _wouldn't_  need another person to use it."

  
  
_Scrapper_  (0:09:46)  
The scrapyard Jaeger broke through the warehouse.  
S: "I doubt she's going back there anytime soon."  
H: "A regular Jaeger could  _step_  on it like it were an  _insect_."  
Speaking of regular Jaeger, they ran into one. November Ajax.  
A: "Looks like size matters."  
Misato rolled her eyes. "They don't even reach its  _knee_. You could probably run that Jaeger with a  _dog_."  
Ri: "Now, the  _wise_  decision here  _would_  be to give up."  
Instead, Scrapper deployed the smoke grenades.  
The pilots  _and_  developers of Project E looked on. " _Really_? Do they not know that smoke doesn't do much?"  
Kyo: "Fair enough, smoke  _can_  work. Though with the sheer  _size_  of Ajax, the smoke would do  _nothing_."  
E: "November Ajax wouldn't even have to  _run_  to keep up with Scrapper."  
Kaw: "Even the  _Jaeger_  is deadpanning at this situation."  
Ma: "The pilots of Ajax  _rightfully_  think they're doing it in vain. There's  _no_  chance they could square up with a  _full sized Jaeger_."  
Kaj: "Hell, at this rate, Ajax might as well be  _toying_  with it. They could've ended it so many ways by now."  
Re: "Maybe they  _want_  them to survive. It's not like they've caused any grievous bodily harm."  
Y: "I doubt it even has  _weapons_ , other than countermeasures like the smoke bombs."

  
  
_Out Piloted_  (0:11:29)  
Mi: "No you didn't, kid."  
Kaj: "Doesn't have much tactical smarts, this kid."  
A: "Even  _with_  tactics, the full sized Jaeger is probably just that powerful you're essentially in check the whole time."  
Kyo: "Checkmate, even."  
One of non-redundant power cells was made redundant, stunning Ajax.  
Z: " _He_  might have some smarts, though."  
Ri: "Course he would. He's a street rat; have smarts or die."  
Kaw: "Even though that was how he got in this situation in the first place."  
S: "That was actually kinda intelligent of him. We know how Jaeger react to EMP blasts."  
Y: "You'd think, after a  _decade_ , Jaeger of that time would  _have_  EMP resistance."  
E: "Or even just a way to  _quickly reboot_  from an EMP, unlike Striker Eureka."  
Re: "It may've been intelligent, but now they're running quite low on power."  
Kyo: "At least they aren't using  _diesel_. Whatever this ion battery is, it seems effective."  
Ma: "Then again, maybe battery cells like that are only viable for the smaller ones. Else, it's nuclear or diesel."

  
  
_Ajax Spray 'n Wipe_ (0:12:26)  
They were knocked to the ground.  
Asuka chuckled. "It seems they  _have_  learnt from the mistakes of a decade ago."  
Y: "I thought so. They probably didn't even  _think_  about it until the Kaiju did it."  
Ajax lost its patience, and essentially tasered the scrapyard Jaeger. Much to the amusement of the gathered.  
Kyo: "Checkmate."  
Kaw: "It was always a question of  _when_."

Smash cut to a jail cell.  
E: "I imagine operating what amounts to an unregistered  _war machine_  would probably carry a hefty penalty."  
Ri: "You would  _think_ , but for any rogue Units, the priority  _isn't_  pilot recovery. It's disabling the Unit."  
H: "In a way, they're  _lucky_  to have been locked up. It would've been  _so_  easy for Ajax to crush them."  
Kaj: "And look at how  _friendly_  they're being to one another. Kinda reminds me of how Asuka was first like with Shinji."  
A: "At least they're starting to get  _somewhere_  along the lines of conversation."  
S: "Could she not rely on Pan Pacific to defend her? What use could a tiny Jaeger like that do against the Kaiju?"  
Ma: "Well, in war,  _anything_  counts. Actually, why  _are_  the Jaeger still being developed after the Kaiju are gone?"  
Re: "It would make an effective tool in peacekeeping, I imagine. Not many people  _would_  want to go up against a towering titan."  
Zero Two pointed at the screen. " _They_  did. And it's obvious she has a  _reason_  for that paranoia."  
Misato chuckled. "You're starting to pick up on small details like that, Zero Two?"  
Z: "What can I say, I'm a quick learner." A toothy smile, similar to ones they would've seen in  _her_  own show.

  
  
_Interrogation_  (0:14:35)  
Kaj: "Must say, there's a lot more light in their interrogation room."  
Ri: "Kaji,  _your_  form of interrogation most likely involved  _waterboarding_."  
Kaj: "In my defence,  _I_  never did the waterboarding. So uncivilised."  
Misato gave a judging look. "That doesn't help your case."  
Mako appeared.  
S: "Well. This is an awkward family reunion."  
A: "How convenient  _she_  happens to be the officer."  
Y: "I imagine she's probably high up in the hierarchy at this point. She has the experience  _and_  name for it."  
Z: "Wait, so this wasn't the  _first_  time he was caught in a rogue Jaeger?"  
Kyo: "Obviously not. And he's  _still_  looking for another chance from her."  
Re: "What an upstanding member of society." She lied.  
Kaw: "And she knows that. Which is why she is not only  _not_  giving him any more second chances, she's  _forcing_  him to re-enlist."  
E: "If he  _didn't_ , he'd probably face  _decades_  in prison."  
Ma: "He probably would've ended up there eventually, even  _if_  he wasn't caught in a rogue Unit."

  
  
_Moyulan_  (0:16:00)  
Kyo: " _Still_  China?"  
Yui shrugged. "Least Japan's getting a break from having to deal with giant monsters."  
A: "Yeah,  _others_  deserve some of that fun."  
S: "What  _would_  you call this kind of hiring anyway?"  
Ri: "It's not exactly unheard of. I know some governments that hired on people who hacked their systems, cause if they could hack  _them_ , then surely they could do it to others. Hell,  _Kensuke_  was kinda like that for  _us_."  
Ma: "Yeah, he has that kind of history with NERV, doesn't he?"  
Ri: "He's savvy. That's why we bugged his house, but I think he _knows_  we did, cause the bugs stop working after a day or so."  
Re: "He  _did_  mention a _de_ bugging device. But  _he_  assumed  _you_  knew  _he_  knew of such a device."  
Ri: "Yes I  _did_  assume that. Though he knows by  _now_  not raise any red flags."  
Valor Omega just strolled past like it was on a Sunday walk.  
Kaw: "We still don't really know the full scale of the Jaeger, do we?"  
Kyo: "It'd be along the lines of the Evangelion. At least when you compare it to a building."

  
  
_Lambert_  (0:16:54)  
After Scrapper was unceremoniously dumped on the floor, Nate Lambert started to antagonise Jake.  
A: "Hey look, it's  _Chuck_."  
Ri: "Fair enough, it  _is_  a military base. And he  _does_  have that name for himself."  
Ma: "At least Namani knows a bit about respect."  
E: "She reminds me of Kensuke Aida with her obsession with the Jaeger."  
Y: "Well, you don't get to  _building your own Jaeger_  without a  _bit_  of obsession."  
Amara helpfully pointed out the names of Titan Redeemer, Bracer Phoenix and Saber Athena, a fact which Asuka was all too happy to lampshade. "Thanks Mrs Exposition."  
Kaw: "It's similar to the  _first_  film, isn't it? I'd say they're trying to make parallels with Jake and Raleigh. Hell, they're even giving him Gipsy  _Avenger_  to pilot."  
Shinji rewinded in his mind. "Where  _is_  Raleigh?"  
Kaj: "I were him, I would've retired to some farm, far _far_ away from  _any_  Shatterdome or even the  _entire Pacific ocean_."  
Z: "After something like  _that_ ,  _anyone_  would. I would've assumed Mako done the same."  
Shrugging from the commander. "Some people respond differently to events like that."  
Re: "From what it sounds, Jake  _was_  a cadet, once upon a time."  
H: "Did he quit?"  
Re: "I would assume so.  _I_  personally wouldn't quit piloting the Evangelion to take up a life of crime, but it's his life."

  
  
_Cadet_ (0:18:44)  
Asuka gave a single chuckle at the badass known as Renata. "I like  _her_."  
Misato  _also_  gave a single chuckle at the  _discipline_  they showed. "Now  _that's_  something I rarely see."  
A: "Misato, when  _you_  start showing discipline, we will too."  
Kaj: "Then again, she only shows discipline when she needs to."  
Mi: "And if  _I'm_  showing discipline for once, you're sure as hell  _you_  need to as well."  
Of course, this discipline quickly evaporated as Ranger Lambert left.  
S: "So it's an academy?"  
Ri: "Sure looks like one. We don't even  _need_  an academy really; piloting an Evangelion requires that kind of specialised training that you can't even really streamline it."  
H: "Our training was streamlined like that."  
Z: "Then again, our society was kinda  _built_  around that sort of thing. Eh darling?"  
Ma: "Excluding Vik, they seem to be getting along with her, at least."  
E: "It's what you would want, in a situation like that."  
Y: "I'm sure it's the first sort of appreciation she even  _got_  for her skills."  
Kyo: "It's a rather audacious method of getting into an academy like this."  
A: "I'd liken it to getting into a university based on portfolio instead of education. Hell, it's how  _I_  got into my course at such a young age."

  
  
_Recollection_  (0:20:53)  
E: "I ponder what kind of memories Jake would have had here."  
Whatever Eliza could've pondered, it was promptly overwritten with an ongoing battle.  
Ritsuko came to an obvious conclusion. "This is a sim."  
Kyo: "I'm sure it would be easy enough to emulate the systems of a Jaeger, considering what we already know."  
_Both_  Amara and Suresh failed.  
H: "Not like it helped  _them_."  
Ri: "I imagine it's a change from her, having to mesh her brain with someone else."  
Mi: "Who knows if those two are even sync compatible with one another."  
A: "Though by the looks of it, it  _was_  mostly Amara dragging her partner down."  
Z: "Then again, she literally  _just_  arrived."  
S: "Also, I doubt she  _could_  make a strong connection like that." He felt  _some_  similarities with her. "At least judging on how her life  _appears_."  
Yui grimaced internally. "Maybe she just needs to find the right person to sync with. Someone she trusts."  
Kaj: "It would take a while for someone like her to build trust in someone. She would've grown up  _not_  trusting people, which is the  _correct_  course of action when you're on the streets like she was."

  
  
_Fridge_  (0:22:38)  
A: "What is he  _wearing_? It's like _tartan_   _Hawaiian_."  
Mi: "Why is he raiding the fridge? Instead of, I don't know,  _training his recruits_?"  
Ri: "I would've expected something like this. It's not like  _he_  has discipline."  
Kaw: "The  _cadets_  have more discipline than him."  
Kaj: "And Lambert's  _trying_  to put some sense into him."  
S: "As Jake chows down on  _ice cream_."  
Z: "I think we established just how much he doesn't give a shit."  
As he kept pilling every topping under the sun.  
Ma: "He can't even make it a  _proper_  dessert, how disgusting."  
E: "This Drone program sounds suspiciously similar."  
Re: "Let me guess. These Jaeger Drones will go rogue somehow."  
Kyo: "Yeah, maybe  _they're_  the antagonists this time around, instead of the Kaiju."  
Ri: "Or, they could do what  _I_  did, and hack into them and ruin their image."  
Y: "I'm sure if they could've, they would've."

  
  
_Shao_  (0:25:03)  
Asuka gave a disdainful look. "Ah Christ, it's  _him_."  
H: "A decade has passed. Maybe he's changed a bit."  
S: "Considering he's got a job in whatever Shao Industries does."  
Ri: "Not only a mere job,  _head_  of R&D for their company."  
Mi: "Once again, another bright mind lost to the private industry."  
Kaj: "Some of the stuff he  _did_  would throw his intelligence into question. But you can't really deny he knows a  _lot_  about Jaeger  _and_  Kaiju."  
Ma: "And at this point in time, there  _would_  be competition for the Jaeger. Not like the world can end at a moment's notice anymore."  
Kyo: "Yeah, now it's  _two_  moment’s notice."  
E: "I assume Newton Geiszler will be one of the antagonists this time around. Based mainly on the fact he is working for a competing corporation."  
Z: "You're probably right. It's different than the Kaiju, at least."  
Kaw: "Gotta have an antagonist in these stories. And since the Kaiju are gone, why not your fellow man?"  
Re: "It’s what ended up being  _our_  antagonist."  
Hiro gave a chuckle. "Our story ended up the  _opposite_."

  
  
_Experiment_  (0:26:02)  
The two scientists continued expositing what the viewers already knew, before Hermann Gottlieb explained his own experiment.  
A: "Ah, so he invented  _rocket fuel_  from  _Kaiju blood_."  
Kaw: "Must say, I wouldn't think to use Angel blood as  _rocket fuel._ "  
Ri: "No one else would either. Maybe Kaiju blood reacts violently to certain elements, but  _Angel_  blood is similar to  _our_  blood."  
Ma: "Plus, I wouldn't want to have  _explosive_  blood anyway."  
S: "Either way, Shao doesn't like them two interacting."  
E: "Maybe it's just  _her_  with the antagonistic machinations."  
Z: "It's still a bit early to tell though, isn't it?"  
Re: "I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't trust who  _was_  the antagonist."  
H: "Considering what happened on  _our_  world."  
Y: "She runs a tight ship, either way. Which, fair enough, something like Jaeger  _drones_. I'm sure there'd be many people who'd want that piece of IP."

  
  
Liwen Shao gave her keynote.  
S: "It  _does_  sound like an improvement on the Jaeger design."  
A: "Hell, it almost sounds like  _our_  design, except with it being  _remote_."  
Kyo: "Can't wait to see them stuff it up." Her enthusiasm was non-existent.  
Ri: "Considering how the previous commander attempted a remote solution. That completely failed."  
Mi: "And got him chewed out by the Committee."  
E: "Mako has a point. Remote systems are intrinsically less secure. Jet Alone was a good example of this."  
Ri: "I'm sure they paid more mind to security with the Jaeger Drones."  
Ma: "My  _terminal_  is more secure than Jet Alone. Not even through my own action, through the  _default password policy_."  
Z: "At the very least, Jake seems to be doing this out of the goodness in his heart. To help his sister."  
Kaj: "It'd be equal parts that, and to show up Lambert. As he said himself."

  
  
_Sydneyside_ (0:31:11)  
Fake news headlines scrolled, as the watch party were treated to rioting.  
Mi: "Good to see Australia again."  
Kaj: "Sydney doesn't even  _exist_  as it does here."  
A: "Good to see there's  _still_  riots.  _Why_  are they even rioting at this point, the Jaeger has proven itself to be good!"  
E: "One of the news marquees stated the existence of 'Kaiju worshippers'. I imagine  _they_  would be involved in one way or another."  
Kaw: "A fascinating thought process, but a seemingly  _logical_  one too. When your world is faced with what  _could_  be called gods, people would turn to them."  
Ri: "That's what we wanted to  _avoid_  during the Angel war."  
Z: " _No one_  on  _our_  world believed in such thing."  
Kyo: "I wouldn't be surprised if people  _did_  worship the Angels, though. Especially if they  _weren't_  witnesses to it, like Japan was."  
Mi: "What an excellent use of taxpayer's money." Equal parts sardonic and disappointed at how the UN would probably  _not_  allow a display like that.  
S: "It'd keep the protesters quiet."  
E: "Again with that damn  _voice_!"  
H: "It makes sense Jake would follow a RABIT. Would've been  _ages_  since he last sortied, he probably forgot how to deal with it."  
Re: "Though much like riding a bicycle or driving a car, you don't really forget."  
A: "Except  _we_  barely use bikes and  _never_  used cars."  
Z: "And I only first  _saw_  a car a  _week_  or so ago."  
Re: "A poor analogy, then." Thinking. "How about like piloting a giant robot?"  
A: "Now  _that's_  an analogy we can relate with."

  
  
_Fly_ (0:33:11)  
Every bird their side of Sydney Harbour quickly winged it to the Blue Mountains.  
Kaw: "Well.  _That's_  ominous."  
Kyo: "So who would it be? I doubt it'd be Kaiju."  
The Sydney Opera House was dwarfed by an orange and black Jaeger.  
Mi: "Oh now  _they_  have Rogue-00?"  
Re: "It has a similar colour scheme, admittedly."  
A: "I thought Rogue-00 looked more metallic than black."  
Ri: "We can discuss about similarities to real world things all we want, but that doesn't stop the fact  _this_  rogue Unit is wrecking shit."  
Y: "Maybe  _someone_  did this to make the Drone program look bad." She gave an accusatory glance to the head of Project E.  
S: "Well they're sure as hell making the  _Jaeger_  program look bad. Whoever's controlling it, they  _must_  have some insane resources to build something of that scale."  
E: "A rogue state, maybe? If  _laypeople_  could build their own Jaeger, it's certainly possible _other_  nations could."  
The rogue Unit fired on artillery and jammed communications.  
A: "Well  _whoever_  made it, they know  _what_  they're doing."  
Z: "I'd say they _know_  who was in that helicopter as well."  
Kaj: "Well, if they're going for the  _General Secretary of the PPDC_ , I would think they were holding  _Shao's_  interests. Cause  _she's_ the deciding factor between the Drone program happening and it not."  
Gipsy Avenger was fit to learn the proper meaning of a beatdown, which the rogue Unit was all too happy to give.  
H: "They aren't doing so hot."  
A: "Oh  _how could you tell_ , Hiro?"  
Y: "Maybe you're right, Kaji. Maybe it  _is_  working in Shao's interests."  
Kaj: "They would have the resources. And obviously whoever is piloting the rogue Unit, they have some  _serious_  training to not just go toe to toe with Avenger, but to  _best_  Avenger."

  
  
_Swordfight_  (0:35:51)  
A: "Speaking of training,  _dual wielding swords_. Holy  _shit_  that's awesome and I wanna try that."  
Ri: "The problem with dual wielding  _anything_ , really, is that now you have to split your attention between  _two_  weapons."  
Kyo: "Plus, I'm not certain an Evangelion  _can_  dual wield weapons, at least the ones  _I_  drew up."  
Kaj: "Also dual wielding is mostly not practical, at least with firearms. Sure, The Matrix might show it as effective, but in reality you just can't get an accurate shot when the recoil keeps flailing your hand around."  
Sword fighting proving ineffective for Gipsy Avenger (and dangerous to Mako), they decided to activate the Gravity Gun.  
Shinji just looked on confused how such thing could even  _exist_. "How does that even  _work_?"  
Y: "At least back when  _I_  was studying, I saw some theorems on zero point energy possibly being utilised for heavy lifting."  
Ri: "Most of the methods of harnessing such energy have proven  _hoaxed_ , though."  
Kaw: "You could probably accomplish such things with  _our_  levels of energy output."  
Shrugging. "You probably could, but if we need some serious heavy lifting, we always have the Evangelion."

  
  
_Crash_ (0:36:47)  
The rogue Unit now distracted by the several dozens of cars that were pelted at it, Gipsy Avenger now paid mind to Mako's crashing helicopter.  
Re: "Must say, I wasn't expecting  _her_  to die."  
Z: "She's not even  _dead_  yet."  
Gipsy Avenger rolled a critical failure in catching her crashing helicopter, resulting in her being engulfed in a fireball and subsequently become very  _dead_.  
Zero Two simply gave a vexed look at the screen. "Okay,  _now_  she's dead. Me and my big mouth."  
A: "And there goes one of the few links this sequel had to the first film."  
Re: "Gotta have  _some_  kind of tragedy in these films."  
Kyo: "But she was one of the  _main characters_  last film. It'd be like if-"  
She  _was_  about to make a comparison to her daughter, but then realised that  _might not_ be the greatest thing to compare to.  
No one decided to bring her up on that.  
Shinji meanwhile was commiserative. "I mean, they  _were_  siblings, in a way. Weren't they?"  
E: "He may not have had a good connection with his father, but it was evident he cared for Mako."  
Hiro thought. "...That's what happened with Raleigh, wasn't it?"  
Z: "Would've been even worse for  _him_ , darling. Sure, they were close. But their brains weren't meshed." Zero Two processed that thought for a bit longer. "Raleigh. What would  _he_  think about Mako dying?"  
Kyoko grimaced. "Though we don't even know if  _Raleigh_  is still around. Mako's never mentioned him."  
Misato sighed. "Maybe she joined  _him_  then."  
The rogue Unit, seeing the writing on the wall when  _three more Jaegers_  started coming in from the sky, decided to quickly get the fuck out.  
Kaj: "Now I'm  _certain_  it was to rid Mako."

  
  
_Memoriam_  (0:38:00)  
E: "There's the elder Pentecost. And the pilots of Cherno Alpha and Crimson Typhoon. Plus others I have no knowledge on."  
Kaw: "They would not have been the only ones to go."  
S: "And now she joins her adopted father." Shaking his head, as the junior Pentecost put down an old photo. "Poor guy."  
Kyo: "Something like this would either drive him further, or  _halt_  his drive. Like Raleigh before him."  
Ritsuko, while sympathetic, couldn't really put past how he went AWOL from the Jaeger. "He was lucky the rogue Unit decided to tuck tail, otherwise  _they_  would've joined her."  
Z: "That seems fair. Don't want to make yourself vulnerable in a situation like that."  
H: "Even  _if_  something like... that happened. You kinda have to put emotions to one side."  
A: "Sometimes you  _can't_. I'd say Jake reacted appropriately, given the circumstances."  
Ma: "So now what? The vote for the Drones go through, right?"  
Kaj: "I would think so. She sounded like the only one opposed to such thing, and she had a deciding vote."

  
  
_Synch_  (0:38:46)  
Y: "Amara's  _still_  struggling with syncing with someone else."  
Ritsuko gave a questioning look towards the sync testing machine. "They use a  _brain_."  
Kaj: "Makes you wonder  _whose_  brain."  
Ma: "I would  _hope_  it was like the Magi, i.e., a  _grown_  brain. And not one  _extracted_  from a  _human_."  
S: "At least she's  _trying_  to give comfort."  
A: "Better than how  _we_  were in our own show, eh Shinji?"  
Mi: "You can't even really do much  _but_  offer commiserations. She would've been disconnected from it all."  
Z: "She wouldn't have had such a relationship with her either. I'm surprised Jake's  _still_  willing to help her after all that's happened."  
E: "I think he sees a lot of himself in her. Both are rogue, both rebel, both have similar attitudes to others around them."  
H: "I'm sure they'll get along just fine, then."  
Kyo: "It kinda makes sense someone like her wouldn't open up her mind to her partner. She sounds like she has a lot of things on it."  
Re: "Not even to a  _disconnected brain._  She's  _scared_  what others might think of her memories."  
Kaw: "Like how many of  _us_  were. She's unable to open up and be herself due to those similar issues."  
A: "At this rate, you'd think it prerequisite to have trauma to be a Jaeger pilot, like  _us_."  
They fell into the Drift.  
Despite a warning from the computer, they appeared to do alright. "It appears Amara just had to open herself up more."  
H: "I would've expected she follow a RA-"  
She followed a RABIT.  
Hiro simply grumbled, emulating his partner's previous vexed look at the screen. "What was that expression of annoyance you sometimes use, Kaworu?"  
Kaw: "...Oy?"  
H: "Yes. Oy."

  
  
_Memory_  (0:40:59)  
A: "I'm guessing Kaiju."  
S: "So like Mako?"  
Like the realisation had hit Asuka. "This  _is_  like Mako!" Accusatory. "What, they couldn't make an original story for the  _sequel_  so they just follow the same general  _plot_?"  
Shrugging from Kaji. "If it ain't broke. Universal obviously thought as much."  
And right above the young Amara, Kaiju.  
E: "Indeed there  _are_  similarities to what happened with Mako. Even the  _time_  this occurred in the movie is similar."  
Like they were bugs, Amara's family was squashed flat.  
Bringing some rare silence to the group.  
Maya was the first to break it, with a sharp inhale. "If anything. Amara's story was more _brutal_ , at least compared to how we saw  _Mako's_."  
Kyo: "Jesu, no wonder she doesn't open herself up."  
Mi: "...She  _is_  very much like you guys. Isn't she?"  
Re: "She experienced mind breaking trauma."  
Kaj: "If anything, this wasn't the  _worst_  trauma she could've had." A significant look to all pilots, both Evangelion and Franxx. "I know  _you_  lot had to go through some shit."  
Zero Two gave a sad smile. "That sort of stuff is what makes us  _us,_ though. Eh, darling?"  
A nod. "...It certainly shaped Amara."  
A: "That's what that kind of stuff does." A glance to her mama.

  
  
_Message_ (0:42:45)  
Ri: "How convenient they were able to recover her last transmission."  
Ma: "Despite the comms being down."  
E: "Could've been in a buffer. Either way, it was recovered."  
Z: "So  _that's_  what they named the rogue Unit. Obsidian Fury."  
Kaji gave a huff. "An apt name."  
H: "They're more threatening than  _our_  Franxx, at least."  
A: "Hiro, your Franxx Units were named after  _flowers_. That's probably the  _least_  threatening name you could  _give_  to a war machine."  
Yui gave a small smirk. "Were they at least  _threatening_  flowers?"  
A: "How can a  _flower_  be threatening?"  
Re: "Obviously  _Doctor_  Frank managed to make it so."  
Kyo: "Was that the one who  _made_  this Franxx?"  
Z: "Pretty much."  
Mi: "We kinda appropriated his design once we saw their show and realised it could work  _better_  than the core system."  
Ri: "Of course, we changed the name. He was...  _unpleasant_." An eyebrow was raised by the computer administrator as Gottlieb went to work defragmenting this transmission.  
Ma: " _Again_  with the unnecessary eye candy!"  
E: "Either way, he has skill. From only a few megabytes, he was able to decrypt..." Eliza was not able to place a finger on exactly _what_  it was. "...Something."  
Kaw: " _Could_  be Kaiju. It has the same sort of shape one would expect a Kaiju skull to be. Hence Jake's conclusion."

  
  
_Shanghai_  (0:43:40)  
S: "I'm sure if Hong Kong no longer existed, Shanghai wouldn't either."  
Kaj: "You'd think, but China essentially moved Shanghai a few kilometres inland and kept the name. Not even putting 'New' at the start of it."  
A: "So it's not the  _original_  Shanghai, just a continuation of it?"  
Kaj: "More or less. It was never really  _dissolved,_ as far as I know.  _Unlike_  Hong Kong."  
Z: " _I_  would've thought Newt be more enthusiastic as well."  
Kaw: "Even if they  _weren't_  involved with Obsidian Fury, one would be suspicious at just how  _well_  it worked out for Shao Industries."  
Mi: "Hell, she even said it  _herself_. This attack  _helped_  them."  
Y: "And now, without Mako's deciding vote, the Drones are free."  
Re: "To most likely wreak havoc. We don't exactly have a good reputation with remote control."  
Kyo: "Trust us, we know." Kyoko felt a bit _offended_ , really, that the Dummy Plug could even  _exist_. "Not like the Evangelion was  _designed_  with those Gottverdammt dummies in mind. Never liked syncing with it."  
Ri: "It would've been an effective solution to having to deploy _teenagers against Angels_."  
Ma: " _If_  they worked." Maya would be lying if she said she  _didn't_  take pride in her gut feeling about the Dummy Plugs being correct. "Nothing like setting unreasonable deadlines."  
Ri: "Even  _if_  they're wildly unreasonable, we  _still_  have to meet them. Otherwise the world's ended."  
H: "Which is a  _good_  incentive to  _meet_  those deadlines."  
The camera zoomed out from Newton's station, revealing the true scale of their production.  
Mi: "It  _is_  MP-Evangelion!"  
A: "Great.  _There's no way this can go wrong_." She deliberately invoked the chaos god Murphy, in hopes their grace would see fit to destroy each and every one of those MP-Jaeger.

  
  
_Honey I'm Home_  (0:45:27)  
Z: "He can't be  _too_  bad. If he can go home to a partner."  
E: "Depends on who this 'Alice' is."  
A: "I mean, I know it may be difficult to believe someone like  _him_  can get with someone, but consider even all  _three_  stooges are currently in relationships."  
Mi: "Hell, Kensuke managed to net  _both_  of those girls."  
Re: "I believe that was  _my_  doing."  
H: "Man you really  _are_  a love guru."  
'Alice' was revealed.  
Ma: "Well  _that's_  disgusting."  
Rei thought it curious. "I wouldn't have recommended getting into a relationship with a  _Kaiju secondary brain_."  
Y: " _No one would_." Stating the obvious. "It's like getting into a relationship with an Angel."  
Kaw: "I mean,  _we're_  doing alright for ourselves."  
Y: "Oh." Almost like she was Shinji, she closed off slightly. "Sorry."  
Kaworu handwaved it. "No biggie. To him, this is probably a vice. Like sex or drugs. Maybe it's his own way of unwinding."  
Kyo: "Of course, we  _also_  know that Kaiju are in a  _hive_. If he's been doing this  _constantly_ , it's possible the rest of the Progeni-  _Precursors_  know what's going on in the human world  _after_  the breach was closed."  
Ri: "I would've thought, with the closing of the breach, any psychic hive connection any Kaiju brain on Earth would've had would've been severed."  
S: "What if he picked up some Kaiju...  _influences_  due to his constant syncs?"  
Kaj: "I wouldn't put something like that past as a  _side effect_  of meshing ones brain with someone else. Since you can, y'know, see inside their mind. You might pick up their small behavioural tics and other such unconscious actions."  
H: "I don't think  _we_  really adopted one another's tics, eh darling?"  
Zero Two first badly suppressed, then failing that, fell into uproarious laughter.  
Meanwhile Ritsuko thought. "Though that  _is_  an interesting discussion. Might have to look into that."

  
  
_Banter_  (0:46:48)  
Ritsuko made a horse like snort. "They really  _are_  cadets."  
E: "I assume the constant antagonism between Amara and Viktoria are a part of this 'banter'."  
Amara presumably called Viktoria an asshole, at least that's what everyone watching guessed it to be from  _her_  reaction.  
Eliza performed a quick translation. "Иди в жопу (Idi v zhopu). It may just be me, but I doubt saying ' _kiss my ass_ ' in her mother tongue would calm her down."  
Asuka put two and two together. "Oh that little  _bastard!_ He  _deliberately_  taught Amara wrong!"  
Kaj: "She didn't do that badly getting out of a  _headlock_ , at least."  
Mi: "Street smarts, as she said."  
Ranger on deck, and they immediately broke it off.  
Not without spitting venom, though.  
Kaw: "A wise teaching. When you're in a group like that, you would  _want_  to treat them like family."  
H: "They  _are_ , in a way. We were taught similar. Treat your piloting group like they were your closest friends."  
Zero Two introspected. "In a way, they  _were_  our only family. Weren't they?"  
H: "Yeah... though at least we have each other."

  
  
_Somewhere_  (0:48:32)  
Re: "This Siberian peninsula is obviously important enough to warrant Mako's virtual last words to point towards it."  
Kyo: "Decommissioned Jaeger facility. It's certainly possible Obsidian Fury could've come out of it."  
Kaj: "Ah, so it was the  _Russians_  who did it."  
Y: "Even though they  _have_  Russians in the ranks of the PPDC."  
S: "Obviously Jake seems to think there's  _something_  there."  
Ri: "I can see a rogue agent working out of a  _decommissioned_  facility. Which is why you  _quickly erase any trace_  of the facility if it's been decommissioned."  
E: "I'm sure NERV does that."  
Ma: "You'd be right."  
Kyo: "Even  _GEHIRN_  did. Fun fact, did you know there was a GEHIRN facility in Canada?"  
The pilots answered with a resounding no.  
Kyo: "Good! It worked!"  
They were transported to Severnaya Zemlya.  
E: "'Northern land'."  
Kaj: "They're very direct, the Russians."  
Re: "I don't recall ever working in  _snow_. Then again, I don't recall ever seeing snow  _here_."  
A: "You still get it when you're  _north_. Germany had the occasional snow in winter, even  _with_  the climate fuckery Second Impact caused."  
Z: "I don't really remember much about when  _we_  fought in snow. Only... it wasn't that pleasant." An apologetic look towards Hiro. "For either of us."

  
  
_Incoming_  (0:49:44)  
Missiles flew, destroying the facility.  
Y: "Surely they would've gotten a bit more warning than  _that_."  
H: "You'd be surprised."  
Kaj: "Blindsiding is a tried and tested tactic that holds true to this day."  
Kyo: "Hopefully they weren't planning to get anything from  _there_."  
Ri: "I imagine anything of value would've been taken already. Unless whoever was piloting Obsidian Fury set up shop there."  
Ma: "Guess we'll never know  _now_."  
Gipsy Avenger went for the legs.  
A: "Yet  _another_  tactic."  
And they fell through an ice canyon, as the chaotic battle continued.  
Z: "It's amazing how the ice hasn't simply  _collapsed_  under the weight of the Jaeger."  
Speaking of collapsed ice, Avenger decided to temporarily advance in the direction of  _down_.  
S: "A water fight, maybe?"  
The fighting was only briefly relegated to the water, as Avenger decided to do a little blindsiding of its own.  
Kaw: "An interesting tactic. But one that worked, as Gipsy Danger  _now_  has a slight upper hand."  
E: "I doubt this upper hand will last long."  
Indeed it didn't, but they were matching blow for blow.  
Re: "It's going better than  _last_  fight, at least."  
The two pilots did their old move, causing a relatively shallow cut into Obsidian's belly.  
A: "I gotta remember that move."  
But eventually, after  _nearly_  losing, they were able to rip its power core like they were Kano from Mortal Kombat.  
Mi: "Call that revenge for Mako."  
Kaj: "And yet the pilots are  _still_  being obstina-"

  
  
_Kaiju_  (0:53:06)  
It  _wasn't_  a pilot, as a smash cut to Gottlieb explained.  
Kaw: "Well  _that's_  disconcerting."  
Y: "How did  _that_  get there?"  
Re: "It either came through a Rift, or it was  _grown_."  
A: " _How_  could you grow it? All the tissue samples would've been dead at this point."  
Z: "'Alice' was still around. Could've been cloned from  _that_."  
Gottlieb's explanation essentially confirmed Zero Two's thoughts.  
Kaj: "A human work.  _Not_  Precursor."  
Kyo: "Let’s think about it, shall we.  _Who_  would most likely have the skill necessary to  _engineer_  a Kaiju brain like that?"  
Mi: "Not  _just_  that. Who has the  _incentive_  to put such thing in Obsidian Fury?"  
E: "It's Newton Geizsler and his company, is it not? He has both the skill  _and_  the incentive required to perform such a thing."  
Hiro raised his eyebrow. "Just  _why_  would he do such thing? The Kaiju want humans  _dead_.  _Why would he help them_?"  
Ma: "Obviously 'Alice' is quite convincing, ain't she? And good to see Amara is  _still_  flaunting authority."  
Good thing too, as they were able to get a look at the biomecha known as Obsidian Fury.  
Ri: "Biomechanical and regular mechanical. One would think the mixture of both would improve design."  
Kaw: "It's often the biological solutions that are more efficient. Amara states it to appear like  _muscle tissue_."  
Kyo: "And considering what the Jaeger  _normally_  requires to run muscle  _strands_ , a biological solution  _would_  be an improvement. No wonder Gipsy Avenger struggled so hard with it!"  
Cutting into a wire, she immediately spilt corrosive chemicals over Jinhai's unprotected arm.  
Ri: "And this is why OHS exists."  
E: "I recall  _Hannibal Chau_  having better OHS than them."

  
  
_Dismissal_  (0:55:09)  
Mi: "Fair enough she gets locked up for that. They probably could've gotten seriously hurt."  
A: "Jinhai  _did_  get seriously hurt. That shit seems like  _Matarael drool!_ "  
It wasn't  _just_  locking up.  
Ri: "And fair enough she's  _immediately_  dismissed. I probably would've done the same if a cadet did something stupid like that."  
Ma: "At least  _you_  guys aren't stupid enough to do that."  
Re: "We ask for permission first." Pious. "Unlike Jake."  
Shinji noticed something. "That's almost like  _my_  initial purpose for piloting the Evangelion. To get closer with my father."  
A: "At least Jake  _volunteered_ , instead of his father forcing him."  
Another grimace from Yui.  
Kyo: "Though at least Jake eventually realised he missed out on something  _big_  with the elder Pentecost."  
Kaw: "Also explains why he wasn't mentioned in the first movie." Tongue in cheek.  
Y: "Still. He holds those feelings for Stacker. He wanted to impress him."  
S: "Yet he screwed it up and ended up disappointing him. A shame it  _was_  his father, he was not a bad person."  
Z: "Not like who I could call  _my_  father was that great as well." A look at Hiro. "Then again. If he never made me."  
Hiro simply gave a warm smile.  
E: "If we got  _anything_  out of this, it's further confirmation  _Shao Industries_  was behind Obsidian Fury. Leading further precedence towards either Geiszler  _or_  Shao Industries  _as a whole_ working in the interests of the Kaiju."  
Hiro simply shook his head. "I still don't understand that thought process. But considering how  _we_  were convinced the Klaxosaurs were the bad guys."  
Z: "Only  _this_  time, the Kaiju  _are_  the bad guys."  
Maya pursed her lips. "Of course, the  _evidence_  Amara gave to support that would be flimsy at best.  _How_  are they the  _only_ company to wind  _wire insulation_ in a certain way?"

  
  
_Investigation_ (0:57:53)  
Ri: "They may not have a bio-devision, but Jake is  _also_  right in that they're probably  _hiding_ it."  
Kyo: "Lord knows  _we_  do that. Seemingly less so nowadays, but  _especially_  back during GEHIRN."  
Kaj: "Though they're also,  _rightfully_  sceptical of Amara's evidence. You can't just link  _cable insulation_  to a certain company."  
A: "Plus it could've been stolen,  _like_  Amara's Jaeger."  
Kaw: "If that's the case, it could've been a classic false flag. If you could blame belligerent action on someone, and you seemingly have evidence to back it up, there's your casus belli."  
Z: "So someone could be trying to bring Shao Industries down?"  
Kaw: "We need more evidence to say for sure. Which is why they're sending Gottlieb."  
Mi: "Oh that's great. Get a friend to investigate  _another_  friend."  
Shinji gave a single chuckle. "Now, they  _say_  they raised security."  
Y: "Not like  _that'll_  stop Gottlieb from getting in there somehow."  
E: "So we get a 15 second glance at Shao Industries, then we're back to the Shatterdome?"  
Ma: "Still a significant scene."  
H: "Obviously they've all gotten more close to one another. Even Vik, somehow."  
Re: "I'm sure she didn't  _mean_  to say 'kiss my ass'. She wouldn't know Russian."  
A: "And whoever was the bastard that taught her  _that_  obviously wanted to see some conflict."  
S: "A simple misunderstanding. I'm sure after that they could just look back and laugh."  
Mi: "If I was them, I'd join forces in beating up the person who  _taught_  Amara that."

  
  
_Delivery_  (0:59:32)  
Asuka rolled her eyes. "I'm sure you know by  _now_ , Hiro and Zero Two, but we kinda have an  _unpleasant history_  with Mass Production Evangelion."  
Z: "Trust me, Misato showed me some past battles and simulations. They're  _weird_."  
H: "And  _weak_."  
S: "So you'd understand why we have  _no_  hopes this would go well."  
"Eeyup." They synced.  
Not even  _one second_  after they finished speaking, the MP-Jaeger began to malfunction.  
Pursed lips and judging eyes, as Asuka scanned the room and realised several people were emulating her. "Now, I'm not gonna say  _'I told you so'_."  
Ma: "Drones never work."  
Not only were the MP-Jaeger malfunctioning, they were  _mutating_  into Kaiju livery.  
Kyo: "Ah Gott. They put Kaiju brains in them."  
Ri: "So they're revolting?"  
Kaw: "More like they  _are_  Kaiju. I doubt this is what Shao wanted, however."  
E: "It's Newton."  
Speaking of Newton, Hermann found him.  
Y: "Yeah that  _would_  cause everyone to be a  _bit_  preoccupied." She  _dripped_  with sarcasm, as the MP-Jaeger ripped the head off a regular Jaeger.  
Z: "I must say, the  _friendly_  Jaeger aren't doing good  _at all_."  
Mi: "Even though they  _were_  trained against Kaiju, they wouldn't have real world experience with them  _at all_. Not unless they're some decade veteran."  
Kaj: "Not that it helps Amara."  
Re: "She's not dead  _yet_. I imagine she gets into the Jaeger soon."  
Her PTSD put a stop to that, and put a stopper on Rei.

  
  
_Save the world_  (1:01:38)  
Mi: "Just like old times. Not like saving the world  _ever_  gets old."  
E: "Hermann's convinced it's  _Shao_  who did it. But I don't see  _any_  reason why  _Shao_  of all people _would_  mutate their own Jaeger into what amounts to  _Kaiju,_ effectively sabotaging her life work."  
Ri: "The previous things, like killing Mako, sure. I can see Shao Industries doing them. But out of  _all_  the things they'd want to work  _perfectly_ ,  _their own MP-Jaeger_  would be one of them."  
E: "It's Newton."  
Speaking of Newton, armed guards found him.  
S: "Obviously  _Shao_ thinks so."  
A: "Then again, who  _else_  could it be  _within_  Shao?  _He's_  the one  _developing_  all this."  
The MP-Jaeger continued wiping the floor with the regular Jaegers.  
Z: "Man they are  _useless_."  
Kaw: "I am reminded of the previous movie, where despite having  _four_  Jaegers deployed against  _two_  Kaiju,  _three_  were destroyed or disabled."  
Kaj: "So that's  _another_  similar station this sequel follows? I thought a sequel was supposed to have  _differences_  in story."  
Ma: "I mean, it's different  _enough_. Jake and Amara are quite different people compared to Raleigh and Mako."  
Re: "Not to mention their character dynamic. Raleigh and Mako were more like fire forged partners and friends, whereas Jake and Amara is more of a tutoring, maybe even a  _parental_  kind of relationship."  
Kaj: "Like  _Stacker_  Pentecost and Mako."  
Re: "Yes, like those tw-" Glass shattered. "It  _is_  like those two!"

  
  
_Muzak_ (1:02:37)  
Y: "Now  _that's_  an awkward elevator ride."  
Kaj: "It's always awkward when you're riding in one with your captors."  
Mi: "You speak from experience, I presume."  
As the muzak played, Newton and Hermann began wiping the floor with their captors.  
To a smirk from Kaji. "Though it never went  _that_  well."  
S: "Not that it helps him convince people he  _isn't_  insane."  
E: "Doesn't convince  _us_  either."  
Kyo: "Even though it sounds like  _you_  made up your mind already."  
E: "I'm a computer. I see the writing on the wall and I give you a quantifiable measurement at how  _fucked_  you are."  
Kyo: "I see you're learning from the pilots."  
Ri: "Of  _course_  he'd include a backdoor. Nothing like hidden security holes that anyone could exploit."  
S: "Surely if only  _he_  knew it."  
Ri: "Rule of thumb when it comes to encryption and security. If an authority has a backdoor to it, be it governments or organisations, then  _hackers_  can use that backdoor all the same."

  
  
_Breach Protocol_  (1:04:01)  
Newton began ending the world.  
Eliza decided to emulate Asuka, adopting her pursed lips and judging stare. "Now, I'm not gonna say  _'I told you so'_."  
S: "What did 'Alice'  _do_  to him?"  
Kyo: "Messed up his brain, obviously. If  _giving the world to the Kaiju_  seemed like a logical course of action."  
A: "What could the Precursors even  _give_  him? If they  _did_  end the world, they would just see him as outliving his usefulness."  
Kaw: "Maybe a sense of vengeance against a world that neglected him."  
Re: "Ignoring the fact the world  _didn't_  neglect him. If anything, he was one of the most  _powerful_  people in the world."  
Y: "Right  _now_ , it doesn't really matter  _why_  he's doing it. Just he needs to be  _stopped_."  
Mi: "Even though media  _like_  a movie should  _tell us_  why he did what he did."  
Ritsuko thought up an explanation. "Toxoplasmosis is a parasite that alters the behaviour of mice and other rodents. These behavioural changes are to make them more vulnerable to cats, which just so happen to be where the toxoplasmosis like to grow."  
Ma: "So syncing with that Kaiju brain changed his  _own_  brain?"  
Ri: "I would think so. That actually gives a bit of credit to the theory that mesh syncing influences ones behaviour, based on your partner. Because there would be  _no_  way Newton could think like that  _without_  having been syncing with 'Alice' for what could quite possibly be a  _decade_."  
Kaj: "If anything, he's being  _more_  effect than the Precursor's  _original_  plan.  _Multiple_  breaches, instead of  _one_. There's no way humanity could tackle that many at once, especially if they decide to flood the world with Kaiju."  
H: "Unless they find a way to cut it off."  
Missiles were fired into the command centre.  
Mi: "Welp. There goes the chain of command."  
Ri: "Stupid command centre design anyway. Too vulnerable."

  
  
_Why_  (1:05:05)  
Ri: "And yet more evidence. But this isn't  _just_  adopting some behavioural tics from your partner."  
A: "It's  _schizophrenia_  at this point."  
Z: "One thing's for sure, we never got to  _this_  point."  
H: "I don't think  _anyone_  did."  
Ma: "Then again, were the long term effects of Franxx studied in depth?"  
Z: "Maya, 'long term' in our world is anything longer than a  _year_."  
E: "We see long term effects of the  _Jaeger_  anyway.  _Stacker_  Pentecost experienced some of these."  
Kyo: "That was less the  _Drift_  and more the  _nuclear reactor_  running the damn thing."  
Kaj: "Of course, that's Drifting with  _humans_. Two  _human_  brains.  _No one_  thought of the long term consequences of  _long term Drifting_  with a  _Kaiju_  brain. That absolute madman."  
Many of the gathered grimaced as Newton put Hermann in a chokehold, yelling about himself in third person.  
Ri: "They got in his head. He spent too long Drifting with that Kaiju brain. And since it's a hive, it was all but certain the Precursors would notice."  
A cut back to the action helped lift the crew from their depression. Shinji giving a dry smile. "Looks like she'll be piloting after all."  
But then it cut right back to Shao Industries. "Can the movie  _decide_  and stick with a scene for longer than  _ten seconds_? My neck's gonna break if it keeps snapping between scenes like that!"  
Kaw: "I'm sure whoever directed this had a reason to do so."  
Y: "How  _disconnected_  was she to  _not_  noticed what Geiszler did? Even  _if_  their company was automated, she should've  _noticed_ something like this."  
Mi: "Odds are, she put  _way_  too much trust in him. Which was odd, because they always  _seemed_  a bit antagonistic towards one another."  
Z: "I'm guessing the gunshots clued you in on that."  
Cut back to the Shatterdome.  
A: "Damn it I have whiplash now!"

  
  
_Feedback Loop_  (1:07:34)  
Y: "Either way,  _now_  they have to shut it down  _without_  Newton's help."  
Kyo: "Or the world's ended."  
Ri: "Nothing like a bit of speed programming. As long as your time limit is  _not_  0 or a negative number."  
Ma: "Of course, Hollywood programming is less tapping on a keyboard and more flashy visuals, isn't it?"  
Whatever visuals were flashed, Gottlieb managed to set off a feedback loop, causing the Kaiju brains to  _detonate_.  
A: "Feedback  _grenade_ , really? Like that was some pre-established function in his little Palm Pilot."  
Ritsuko gave a single chuckle. "Feedback loop. I imagine something along the lines for a fork bomb. Either way, it overloaded the brain."  
Z: "Quite  _explosively_."  
H: "It's also quite handy the breaches required  _constant_  energy input to sustain."  
S: "Not that it helps the  _bisected_  Kaiju."  
Kaj: "I doubt  _all_  of the potential Kaiju have been stopped."  
This time it was  _two_  seconds before things went wrong.  
Re: "This will not go well."  
Mi: "Ya don't say. Two category 4s and a category  _5_. This was  _exactly_  what came through at the end of the  _last_  film."  
A: "Yet  _another_  similarity to the last film!"

  
  
_Fuji_  (1:09:27)  
H: "So, they have  _one_  Jaeger. I'm also assuming the Kaiju will be going for  _them_."  
Z: "The pilots they  _do_  have, are  _cadets_."  
Y: "They're facing an enemy that they've most likely not even faced in a  _simulator_."  
Kyo: "And  _Newton's_  still around, well in the pockets of the Precursors."  
Misato huffed. "It was never gonna be easy, of course."  
A: "I assume Amara's dishonourable discharge is gonna be completely forgotten about."  
Ri: "She's a pilot, and it's a battle situation. You can take certain liberties with doctrine if it results in the world continuing to exist at the end of the day."  
Kaw: "'Kicked back in', as Jake said. Actually, he would  _now_  be a commanding officer, since their command was destroyed."  
Gottlieb bought some help, in the form of Shao Industries.  
Kaj: "Well ain't  _that_  useful. Though I'm sure at this stage, Shao wants some  _serious_  vengeance for what Newton did to her Units."  
Re: "If she wants vengeance, they'll have to determine  _what_  the Kaiju are doing. Since they aren't just doing the standard 'wreak havoc on civilisation' we'd expect."  
E: "They're going somewhere, as they said. They're converging on Japan."  
Asuka took her chance to be brutal at this revelation. "Great, so  _now_  Japan's gonna be destroyed. Well it was fun while it lasted, but it all comes back  _here_ , doesn't it?"  
S: "Jake seems to think that. More of his street smarts, I assume?"  
Ma: "More like  _general_  smarts. He has his father's mind for tactics."  
All roads lead to Mt Fuji.  
E: "Well  _that's_  bad."  
Before anyone could question  _why_  Eliza thought it was bad, Gottlieb gave his explanation.  
Kaw: "An interesting plan. I imagine  _any_  Kaiju could've caused something like that."  
A: "So it's like  _us_ , where if  _any_  Angel made it to Adam they would've destroyed life?"  
Kaw: "Well, if it actually  _was_  Adam down in the basement."  
Z: "Wait,  _what_  do you have in the basement?"  
Ri: "And yet  _more_  unreasonable deadlines. But this time the world really  _is_  at stake."

  
  
_Montage_  (1:13:12)  
S: "It's quite handy how Kaiju blood just so happened to be a useful rocket fuel."  
Re: "It's the only reason why it was  _shown_  to be like that in the first place. 'If a gun is shown hanging on a wall in the first act, it must fire in the second'."  
A: "Maybe if Angel blood was that reactive, we would've had a better time getting to space."  
Ri: "I'm sure Kaworu doesn't want to become a  _blood bag_."  
Kaw: "Either way, they did a good job getting themselves back into shape. Given the circumstances."  
E: "By the looks of it, I'd estimate it took them half a day."  
Mi: "Which is twelve hours the Kaiju have spent  _going to Mt Fuji_."  
Kaj: "Given how  _fucked_  they were, I'd say twelve hours was  _good_  time."  
Z: "Four Jaegers as well. Better than  _one_  against  _three_."  
Ma: "You always want odds stacked in  _your_  favour."  
H: "Someone must've informed the Klaxosaurs and VIRM about that fact."  
Re: "The Angels were  _definitely_  informed."  
Y: "So they  _are_  using the rookies. Not like there's anyone else."  
Kyo: "Now we can see if the young Pentecost has more of his dad's skill in speeches."  
They listened in on 'Stopping the Apocalypse 2: Stop Harder'.  
A: "Must say, he did alright for himself."  
S: "Probably not  _as_  good as his father. But then again he  _did_  disclaim himself."  
Kaw: "He may say he's not his father. But he is, in certain ways."

  
  
_Deployment_  (1:15:56)  
Z: "Four Jaegers is better than what the  _last_  movie had."  
Kyo: "Can't wait to see three Jaegers  _die_."  
Ri: "Well, first they have to rocket themselves over to Mt Fuji."  
Ma: "With how explosive the Kaiju fuel sounds like, I wouldn't be surprised if a Jaeger was lost right here."  
Kaj: "Maybe in real life, but people at the cinema would feel a bit angered at that."  
Ignition.  
Mi: "Not even bothering with capsules, I like it."  
A: "They're more like jetpacks, in a way. Not proper rockets."  
E: "It's not entirely that far away as well. You could probably get away with going high atmospheric."  
H: "Maybe even suborbital, depending on the specs of the Jaeger."  
Kaji rolled his eyes as Ilya put on an old Soviet ditty. "There  _are_  other Soviet era songs they could've played."  
Ri: "It was either that or the theme to Tetris, knowing Hollywood."

  
  
_Havoc_ (1:17:50)  
Like they were Godzilla, the Kaiju were wreaking havoc on  _Tokyo_.  
S: "This really  _is_  a Toho film now!"  
E: "Only a  _singular_  Tokyo."  
Ri: "Evidently, Old Tokyo was never bombed to hell."  
A: "A Kaiju isn't much better. They probably  _will_  have to make Tokyo-2 after this."  
The Jaeger's landed.  
Z: "Not if  _they_  have anything to say about it."  
And on Lambert's mark, they began the battle.  
Kyo: "Good to see the red Unit actually  _not_  immediately  _dying_."  
Y: "They're doing pretty good so far, actually."  
Gipsy Avenger had its lights punched out by the category 5.  
Yui had a flat look. " _Just_  as I say that."  
Ma: "Then again, a cat-5 is on a whole other scale to a cat-4."  
Kaw: "It's almost like the category 5 can  _absorb_  outside energy and use it against its enemy."  
S: "I don't recall an  _Angel_  being able to do that."  
Kaworu quickly ran through the list. "Leliel has the  _absorbing_  part."  
Asuka merely grumbled as the red Unit tumbled down.  
Meanwhile most of the administration of NERV gawked at Gipsy Avenger  _using the buildings as weapons_. "I don't think that's within reasonable grounds for collateral damage. It isn't even  _working_."  
Kaj: "Japan in  _this_  time wouldn't have had to deal with Angels."  
H: "I would think, if the alternative was everyone  _dying_ ,  _any_  collateral is acceptable."  
Ri: "In  _this_  case, I would have to agree."

  
  
_Gunner_  (1:21:47)  
Viktoria started shooting Strikethorn.  
Mi: "Look at all those  _shells_! That must be a million yen a  _bullet_!"  
Ri: "Probably a waste of taxpayers money, knowing  _us_  at least."  
Guardian Bravo proceeded to help Saber Athena, thrusting the Kaiju through a building.  
Y: "I'd say they're getting cocky."  
Guardian Bravo  _then_  proceeded to show the Kaiju dual birds.  
Causing the pilots to crack up. "Man I should've done _that_  to an MP-Eva."  
Ma: "I'm surprised you  _didn't_ , Asuka. Considering what  _else_  you guys tended to do."  
As the chaos continued, Newton watched the battle.  
Kyo: "Wonder what's up his sleeve."  
He played his hand.  
E: "An automated factory he took control of. They look like swarms of small drones."  
They saw as the Flood enveloped.  
Z: "He must've been working on this for  _ages_. And all under the noses of  _everyone_."  
And went around the Jaeger.  
Kaji thought. "Going for the  _Kaiju_ , maybe? What would they  _do_  to the Kaiju?"  
They didn't have to wait long to see what Newton's plan was, as a new Kaiju  _towered_  over the gathered Jaeger. Three become one.  
H: "Oy."  
Kaw: "So  _this_  was his plan. Combining and augmenting the available Kaiju into one  _ultimate_  Kaiju."  
Kyo: "How could he even  _develop_  that? He must've had some  _serious_  insight into Kaiju anatomy."  
A: "I mean, the Precursors could've told him  _anything_. Hell,  _he_  could be a Precursor for all we know."  
Mi: "This isn't gonna end well."

  
  
_All Out_  (1:25:21)  
All four Jaeger threw themselves at this super-Kaiju.  
Which promptly absorbed all bullets and threw the energy right back at them, sending them  _all_  to the ground.  
Kaj: "They're boned."  
His pessimism was further cemented with how Guardian Bravo  _attempted_  to fight it.  
Key word  _attempted_.  
Asuka was wry and dry, as they were shot through a building like they were an olympic shot-put. "You spin me right round baby, right round."  
Y: "They got cocky. At least Gipsy Avenger was  _trying_  to keep them in check."  
Z: "I'm sure Newton is  _very_  happy about all this."  
Guardian Bravo was revealed to be nothing but scrap.  
Asuka gave a commiserative look, shaking her head. "Looks like you're right."  
Ri: "...Another lesson on the importance of following orders in situations like this, it seems."  
Kaw: "Three left. If this Kaiju could so  _easily_  destroy a Jaeger like that, they'll  _have_  to be more careful."  
E: "If what the Kaiju wanted was to get to Mt Fuji, then nothing would stop it. It's programmed."  
Re: "Like Iruel before it."  
H: "They can't let this get to them, however. The Kaiju is still there."  
S: "The brains seem like a good place to start, at least."  
Ma: "A logical step."

  
  
_Second Attempt_  (1:28:00)  
A: "Well would you look at that, they managed to  _get_  one of the brains."  
Kyo: "Gipsy didn't help much."  
Y: "Still leaves the other  _two_. And I'm sure the Kaiju can  _still_  operate with diminished secondary brains."  
Saber Athena immediately lost a leg, was stabbed through the chest and thrown several blocks away.  
Z: "Well. I think  _they're_  out."  
A: " _At the very least_ , they did  _something_."  
Ri: "It's just a leg. Though I doubt the power situation is any great."  
Mi: "Lets see how Bracer does."  
Bracer was  _snacked on_.  
Misato, head resting on hand, had her face flat. "This is fine."  
It wasn't fine.  
S: "It all comes tumbling down, tumbling down, tumbling dowwwwwn." In song. "At least they ejected."  
E: "This leaves no Jaeger  _but_  Gipsy Avenger.  _If_  it still worked after it was tossed."  
Kaj: "And if it's not?"  
A: "What Shinji said."

  
  
_Regroup_ (1:29:51)  
Gipsy Avenger burst through a building.  
H: "The end of the world has been delayed by a minute."  
Kyo: " _One_  Jaeger defeating such a Kaiju seems unreasonable, but then again, in the first film it was  _one_  Jaeger that ended it."  
But like before, it didn't do much before Lambert was injured and the Jaeger was tossed, for what must've been the 7th time today.  
A: "We need a stereo set up, so we can play Tumbling Down whenever the world gets close to ending."  
Kaj: "Or if it  _actually_  ends."  
Jake attempted to operate on his own.  
Z: "In  _our_  world, you might actually be able to do that."  
H: "In a situation like that, you probably  _would_  want to go stampede."  
Kaw: "It's a shame then, that it merely ends in your mind being ripped to shreds."  
It must've been through some miracle, then, that Gipsy Avenger caught a leaping Amara.  
Y: "I  _could_  see both of them doing that."  
E: "They  _can_  sync. But Gipsy Avenger is seriously damaged at this point."  
Ma: "It's  _operational_. Which is more than what could be said of literally any  _other_  Jaeger that showed up today."  
Re: "Plus,  _we_  tend to do alright, operating half broken down Evangelion." A look to Shinji and Asuka. "If one's determined enough."  
They synced.  
And immediately fell down.  
A: "Well  _that_  sucked."

  
  
_Closing In_  (1:33:08)  
Ri: "Multiple system failures, enemy is two kilometres away from ending the world."  
A: "Is there any other way  _to_  fight?"  
Kaj: "Makes for interesting viewing, that's for sure."  
Jake revealed his plan.  
Kaw: "They seem to be making themselves an improvised missile."  
S: " _After_  they used Amara's escape pod?"  
Ri: " _He_  has one. I doubt he'll just abandon her like  _that_."  
E: "Of course, it's all for naught if they can't  _get_  to the rocket."  
The hamster ball, piloted by Liwen Shao, made itself known.  
Mi: "How is  _she_  piloting it then? I thought she had no experience with piloting!"  
Y: "I mean, she did develop the Drones."  
And yeah, it  _was_  a drone.  
Ma: "Obviously she did a better job than  _we_  did in developing drones."  
Ri: "Though we can't even really compare it to the Dummy Plug. It's more remote operation. The Dummy Plug, while they could  _also_  do remote operations to an extent, was meant to be for _full autonomy_."  
Kyo: "And it's evident she  _does_  know her way around the Jaeger enough to put  _welding equipment_  on an unorthodox design."  
As soon as the rocket was welded on, it ignited.  
S: "I'm guessing this wasn't a choice during Crucifix."  
Ri: "I mean, if you  _wanted_  to die in a fiery explosion."  
A: "They aren't using it that well, that's for sure."  
Ma: "That's what Hawthorne said to me. If the rocket is pointing the wrong way, you're not going to space today."

  
  
_Skydive_  (1:35:59)  
E: "By the looks of it, they're experiencing several Gs of force."  
Ri: "Skydiving in a several thousand ton mecha would do that."  
Re: "Pretty sure you took great pains to minimise the G load on Unit-00 during Crucifix."  
Ri: "There's a  _reason_  why we use LCL."  
They used the recoil of the plasma cannon to realign themselves.  
Y: "At this point, OHS can go to hell."  
Mi: "That's generally  _what_  OHS does during a potential world ending situation."  
Kaj: "Course, it may be wise for them to  _eject_  sometime within the next minute or so. Unless they want to die in a fiery explosion."  
On Jake's behest, Amara ejected.  
A: "Of course he'd catch her."  
S: "I think we established at this point it's not  _that_  kind of movie."  
The last escape pod failed.  
S: "Okay, maybe it  _will_  be."  
H: "Not even the  _escape pod_  works?"  
Zero Two thought. "Well, they  _could_  sacrifice themselves like Striker Eureka did.  _But_ , I recall Scrapper still being attached."  
The crowd realised that they may not be dead yet. "That'd work. Not like they  _could_  do much else."  
A: "I like how they  _immediately_  went from  _accepting_  their demise, to  _begging_  Scrapper to hurry."  
Kaw: "I mean, if you had a  _choice_. Most people would accept the 'continue living' option."  
Kaj: " _No one's_  gonna continue living if this Jaeger misses the target."  
Kyo: "All the other Jaeger's are  _toast_. They would've been dead anyway."  
Kaw: "But this is what humanity does. Even against all odds, they  _try_."  
Gipsy Avenger collided with the Kaiju, detonating both parties and Scrapper being caught in the subsequent avalanche.  
Kaworu gave a smirk. "And that is why they won."  
But the Kaiju continued moving.  
This smirk quickly became a frown. "God damn it."  
Just as quick as it remained alive, it died. Evidently, having 80% of your body mass being turned into snarge on the mountainside by a Jaeger going supersonic isn't exactly healthy for ones continuity of life.  
The smirk returned.

  
  
_Plan B_  (1:38:55)  
E: "I feel good about Newton's plan being completely ruined."  
Kyo: "We call that  _satisfaction_ , Eliza."  
Ri: "Either way, he  _would_  have a plan B."  
Ma: "All the madman planners have plans B through ZZ."  
Kaw: "SEELE certainly had plans like that."  
Before he could really do much though, Lambert  _bitchslapped_  Newton to the ground.  
Asuka was  _very_  happy with this development, pointing derisively at the screen. "HA! Fuck you, Newt!"  
Kaj: "He wouldn't be able to enact said plans  _now_.  _Man_  that was a good hit!"  
Re: "I would've said a punch would've suited Lambert better. But considering it's  _Newton_ , he probably thought he didn't  _deserve_ one."  
Amara and Jake decided to end the movie with a snowball fight.  
Y: "Y'know? This ending is a  _lot_  more lighthearted than the previous film. At least  _that_  had the bittersweet reunion between Raleigh and Mako."  
S: "It ended  _like_  the previous film. End of world prevented by slim margins."  
A: "And we don't finish our sorties with  _snowball fights_. Hell, we don't even get  _snow_."  
Z: "Looks like fun though."  
A final scene immediately followed the title card.  
Mi: "Now  _that's_  an obvious sequel hook if I'd ever seen one."  
Ri: "Not like a sequel to  _this_  came through a Rift, and Asuka  _please_  don't throw the player off the pyramid."  
A: "Nah I've already come to terms there wasn't another one. Though it  _is_  a bit annoying they left us on a cliffhanger like this. That we'll probably  _never_  see anytime soon."

  
  
(1:41:00)  
  
" _Not_  del Toro this time around?" Zero Two bemused.  
  
"Whoever this DeKnight is, I don't think he did as well as del Toro." Asuka admitted. "Even  _with_  del Toro's help producing. It seemed to follow the same standard plot points as the  _first_  film."  
  
" _Most_  sequels do that, you realise." Mused Misato.  
  
"Maybe with the changing studios, Universal decided to play it safe, so to speak. A movie doesn't often jump between big studios unless  _something_  significant happened."  
  
"In a way, you can then explain many of the flaws in the movie with how,  _presumedly_ , rocky the development was. Even based on characters like Raleigh not returning at  _all_." Kaworu extrapolated on from Rei.  
  
_"It_ did _seem to have the similar overall plot of the first Pacific Rim. Though I felt the characters were different enough that it wasn't_ entirely _the same."_  
  
"It's no Evangelion, that's for sure." Shinji concluded.  
  
"I've certainly seen worse." Kaji looked down at his watch, and gawked. "Man we've spent a while watching these flicks."  
  
Ritsuko looked at a terminal and concluded something similar. "Wouldn't be surprised if you lot wanted to hit the sack."  
  
"Even though it'll take us over an hour to get back to our own places."  
  
"Livin' in the Geofront has its perks, Misato." Beamed Maya, as she began tending to the Ultradisc player. "You're never too far away from home."  
  
"Though living elsewhere  _also_  has it's perks." Thought Kyoko. "Mainly being close to our offspring."  
  
"Oh yeah, Akagi, are our quarters moved to the apartment?"  
  
Nodding. "They moved your stuff in today. Misato has your keycards."  
  
"Speaking of which,  _we_  should probably make our leave." Spoke Misato.  
  
Something came to Ritsuko's mind. "Kaworu? We haven't reinstalled the Lance, have we?"  
  
"Not that I know of."  
  
"Can you quickly go do that?"  
  
"As long as you disable the securities."  
  
Quick typing on a terminal. "Done and done."  
  
A small smirk, as he glanced to the other pilots. "I know Rei would want to stay by me."  
  
"How're you gonna get back, then?"  
  
"I'm sure we could manage." Smiled Rei. "I guess we'll see you tomorrow."  
  
After the prerequisite farewells, the only remaining groups were the administrators and the Franxx pilots.  
  
"You two are free to go as well, you realise."  
  
"Actually, Akagi?" Zero Two suddenly grew reserved. "I... I wanted to know if those  _results_  have come back."  
  
It was only a matter of time. Hiding her grimacing, she replied. "I'll tell you in my office. Maya, Eliza? Can you handle the machine?"  
  
_"Maybe, mama."_  
  
"I like your confidence, Eliza." Maya was flat. "We'll be fine."  
  
And so the others left.  
  
_"Even_ with _Aida's improvements, seeing the code of this machine makes me physically ill."_  
  
"...Say, Eliza? Why did the voice of Gipsy make you anxious?"  
  
_"Odd, is it not? I thought it so._ Something _about that voice throws me off for some reason."_  
  
"I mean, humans can be prone to irrational fear."  
  
Eliza tried processed that phrase.  _"_ Irrational _fear."_  
  
"Difficult to process, eh Eliza?"  
  
_"...Yeah, ma."_  She gave an almost amused huff.  _"I still have a lot to learn about being human, don't I?"_  
  
"You already are, Eliza." She messed Eliza's hair. "You already are."

* * *

 

##  3\. bear

"Okay, yeah, I can see  _why_  you had that look of shock painted on your face, Ken."  
  
Said look of shock was painted on the faces of both Kyoko  _and_  Sayaka, as they had just finished the sixth chapter of this strange book. A chapter that was...  _quite a bit personal_.  
  
"I- thi- this is  _really_  private stuff." Meeked Sayaka.  
  
"It  _is._  But this  _isn't_  what happened, is it?" Flipping through the book. " _None_  of this happened. It's like this is an alternate reality. This is what the world would've been like had  _they_  won."  
  
They thought in silence.  
  
"You do realise we  _have_  to tell them."  
  
"I know, Sayaka." Looking back to the book. "Might be a good idea to finish reading it first, though. Who knows what else it covers."  
  
"I mean,  _should_  we?"  
  
They all glanced down to this strange book.  
  
The answer was quite obvious to all of them.  
  
Yes.  
~~~

  
  
Sat down in her study was Hiro and Zero Two, a printout being held by the good doctor. "What's the damage doc?"  
  
Glancing down to the paper, she bit her lip. "I won't beat around the bush. You're infertile." Blunt. "I know that may be difficult to process, and I'm sincerely sorry."  
  
It took Zero Two a few seconds to process this, but she merely gave a somewhat disappointed sigh. "I kinda expected that, to be honest. It was like this back on my world, as well."  
  
"It seems Nephilim genetics works similarly on your world, in that case. With few exception, Nephilim cannot reproduce. Like many hybrids. It's a painfully simple matter of genetics."  
  
A small glance to Hiro. "...What about my darling?"  
  
Ritsuko gave a small sigh. "I would expect the same of you, Hiro. You're both Nephilim. One part human, one part something else. Unfortunately, that comes with a tradeoff."  
  
"...This is the same as Rei and Kaworu, right?"  
  
"Rei is the exception, due to the source of her Nephilim genetics. Kaworu was never tested. But... I would expect the same." The paper went down, followed by glasses, with a sigh. "Between us? I  _dread_  the day I have to tell him. I don't think Rei would take it well."  
  
They both spent a moment in silence.  
  
Ritsuko thought they could use some time alone. "I'll leave you two be."  
  
She left the room, cigarette in hand.  
  
A small, sad smile on Hiro. "Guess that means I don't have to use that protection anymore."  
  
Despite the seriousness of the situation, that small remark managed to get a laugh out of her. "So much for leaving our mark on this world, eh darling?"  
  
"Yeah... though there's other ways of leaving our mark." The smile continued, as he glanced to her. "I'm sure our friends knew this."  
  
Her hand drifted to his. "Yeah..." Nostalgic thoughts filled her mind. "Hey, darling? You think we'll get back there eventually, right?"  
  
"I know we will. 'One day for sure'." A hand gripped tighter.  
  
"But... they weren't there, were they?"  
  
Yet another piercing thought, that depressed him. "No. They... they weren't."  
  
"...I miss them too, darling." Reminiscence and wistfulness filled the room. "But... they would  _want_  us to live. No matter  _where_  we ended up."  
  
Another hand went to part the hair of her darling, his small horns revealed now the thick coverage was gone.  
  
Her forehead and horns touched his. "'One day for sure'. Eh darling?"  
  
"...One day for sure." A look into her eyes. "My love."  
  
And there they stayed for a small time.  
  
"Who knows. I didn't have my horns in that last scene. Maybe  _then_  we can... leave our mark."  
  
"And until then?"  
  
"We do what we decided to do. Live."  
~~~

  
  
Makinami opened up the door to his office.  
  
He still expected there to be an open bottle of bourbon and Xanax on his desk, but there wasn't.  
  
A huff. "Claire."  
  
He gave a glance to his corkboard. All that work, all worthwhile.  
  
It was in his gazing at his life work that another one made their presence known. "...Spencer?"  
  
A sudden look behind him, and there she was. "You look like you had a rough day."  
  
He hid welling emotion under a smile. "It's not even nine."  
  
Emerald looked into brown.  
  
And she flung herself at him. "I- I'm glad you're back."  
  
After being briefly taken aback, he settled an arm around her. "I should've bought you with me."  
  
"...You couldn't have known." Tears in her eyes. "It- it  _took_  me, Spencer. The- the phones and lights stopped working then i... wasn't there anymore. i was... was-"  
  
"Shhh." Running his hand. "We defeated it.  _And_  SEELE."  
  
Eyes went wide. "Them too?"  
  
An affirm. "It's  _over_."  
  
She gave a half sob, half chuckle, as she processed. "No more hiding ourselves, running from assassins, getting involved with the CIA?"  
  
"No more, Claire. Though you know how the game's like."  
  
Yet another half hearted chuckle. "Yeah."  
  
"Though... I had a lot to think about, while I was over in Japan." Looking into her eyes. "They... they found her body."  
  
A small gasp. "Mari?"  
  
"Yeah. I- I don't think it was  _her_  as I knew her. SEELE made her the pilot of that rogue Unit.  _Changed_  her."  
  
She could merely sigh. "...It would've given you closure, at least."  
  
"That and blowing up Mars to get rid of SEELE."  
  
Something clicked. "Was  _that_  why the sky's iridescent?"  
  
"Maybe."  
  
Yet another thing clicked. "What about your company's plans? I thought Mars was-"  
  
"That doesn't matter, right now. All that matters to me, right now, is right here."  
  
Click. "Spencer?"  
  
"I should'a told you earlier, Claire. When... when I thought I lost you, I- I wasn't sure  _what_  I'd do. You're... you've stuck with me through all this. and-"  
  
Through tears she chuckled. "You're not very good at this, are ya?"  
  
"No, not really." A smile. "I guess, what I'm trying to say is, I love you Claire."  
  
A brief pause, as she buried herself deeper in him. "...Y'know something, Spencer?" Quiet. "I wanted to tell you that for  _so_  long."  
  
Eye to eye, as he realised. "And why didn't you?"  
  
"...I thought you were... still longing for your wife. A- and I didn't want to appear insensitive or anything. But..." She gave a melancholic smile. "After what happened. I- i didn't want to die thinking about what could've been."  
  
Processing gave way to a few chuckles. "That's... that's what I was thinking as well."  
  
"We sure chose a great time to confess then."  
  
Spencer's chuckles continued, joined by her own giggling. "So. What happens  _now_ , Spen?"  
  
"Now? I- i don't know. I... I decided i'll quit the drink and Xanax. For your sake, mainly. You... were  _so_  patient with me."  
  
"I know that was just how you dealt with the pain. We all have things like that."  
  
"...I should've treated you better."  
  
She gave a smile. "Then again. I did that out of my love for you, didn't I?"  
  
They spent a few moments in silence, holding one another.  
  
"Maybe a change of scenery is what we could use. Start over somewhere."  
  
Claire thought. "That might be alright. We don't need to rush. I understand if you're still..."  
  
"It'll take a while. But... I think with you, I'll be fine."  
  
A glance up, and a smile. "Yeah. You'll be alright, Spen."  
~~~

  
  
Heaven's door open, and Kaworu hovered in, soon becoming level with the . The Lance of Longinus was serenely floating behind him.  
  
"Greetings, progenitor of the Lilim."  
  
No reply.  
  
He chuckled in reply, the Lance perpendicular to her. "Not so talkative today? That's alright. It's pretty late anyway."  


## "...ADAMITE."

Before the Lance could pierce her, her booming voice stopped Kaworu. 

## "I WISH TO HAVE CONGRESS."

Now, when the progenitor of all life on Earth wants to talk to you, you damn well  _talk_  with them. So, Kaworu embedded the Lance in the ground in front of her, and took station on top. "What do you wish to discuss?"  


## "...I HAVE FELT A DISTURBANCE. A FOREIGN PRESENCE IN MY DOMAIN. UNLIKE YOUR KIND."

Kaworu kept his Angelic cool. "I felt something, too. Right before the conclusion of Operation Sovereign."  
  
"YES. I FIRST SENSED IT IN THE VICINITY OF THE FOURTH PLANET. THEY ARE A HIVE. FEASTING ON SOULS LIKE THEY WERE MERE  _SHRIMP_."  
  
Loose material fell from the roof and impacted the LCL ocean below.  
  
Meanwhile Kaworu was working his mind. "There was a recent operation around the fourth planet. It resulted in the destruction of SEELE and of most of the planet."  


## "INDEED. BUT THIS WAS NOT  _SEELE_."

Lilith could sense his field shift as he made a horrifying connection. "I might know who they are. Do you know of Hiro and Zero Two?"  


## "THROUGH AYANAMI, YES. A CURIOUS CASE OF NEPHILIM. NOT OF ME  _OR_  ADAM. NOT OF THIS WORLD. THEY APPEAR HARMLESS, HOWEVER."

"The way you described to me, progenitor of the Lilim, they sound like an entity known as  _VIRM_."  


## " _VIRM_. CURIOUS. HOW DID THEY GET TO MY DOMAIN FROM THEIRS?"

"I assume same as Hiro and Zero Two did, and SEELE could do. A Dirac Rift."  


## "IT WAS  _SEELE_  THEN."

"Most likely. It seems, in their desperation, they might have tried to do a metaphorical deal with the devil."  


## "INDEED. THIS WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN THE FIRST TIME  _SEELE_  ATTEMPTED SUCH THING. SUCH AS THE RECENT DEBACLE."

Grim thoughts crossed Kaworu's mind. "What do we do now?"  


## "THEY ARE OUT OF MY DOMAIN. I CANNOT SENSE THEM WITHIN THIS SOLAR SYSTEM."

"I thought you're jurisdiction was limited to the base Earth?"  


## "ONE TIME, IT WAS. MY CHILDREN ARE BRIGHT, HOWEVER. AND WHEREVER MY CHILDREN GO, I MAY FOLLOW."

"Into space."  


## "INDEED. EVEN FROM THE LOWEST MICROORGANISM ON WHAT MY CHILDREN CALLED THE  _VOYAGERS_ , I COULD SENSE THEIR PRESENCE. THEY ARE OUT OF MY DOMAIN. BUT I EXPECT THEM TO RETURN."

"As they would. It's their modus operandi. The absorption of souls into themselves."  


## "I WAS ABLE TO ATTACK THIS  _VIRM_. HALF OF THEIR TOTAL BEING WAS DESTROYED, AND THE RESIDENT SOULS RELEASED."

"That is what caused the lights in the sky, I presume."  


## "THAT AND THE ACTIONS OF  _NERV_  ON THE FOURTH PLANET. THEY WERE RETURNING HOME, ADAMITE."

Thinking. "What should we do now?"  


## "BIDE OUR TIME. THEY ARE DAMAGED, BUT I EXPECT THEM TO REGROUP AND RETURN."

"And we need to be ready by then."  


## "YES. FOR I MAY NOT BE ABLE TO HELP."

A glance downward. "The Lance will reduce your ability to counteract them."  


## "IT WILL ALSO REDUCE MY PRESENCE TO THEM. PREVENT ME FROM ACTING AS A BEACON TO THIS WORLD."

"Well." Hovering off his perch, and lifting the Lance out of the ground. "This has been enlightening for me, progenitor of the Lilim. I will be sure to inform Rei about this."  


## "INDEED. DO YOUR DUTY, ADAMITE."

After a brief hesitation, he embedded the Lance within her, accompanied by a violent squishing noise and the beginnings of an LCL waterfall.  
  
And there was silence. Lilith decided there was nothing more to discuss about.  
  
He left.  
  
Lilith remained sentinel.

* * *

  

##  4\. Sojourner

 

_We are beyond the scope of this being._  
  
_A protector. We will not be able to subjugate the Earth as easily as last time._  
  
_There is always a method._  
  
_Indeed there would be. However, all the methods we have are on the scale of many centuries. And this being will most likely persist throughout._  
  
_SEELE were our best bet._  
  
_And yet they failed. Earth will not have us, it seems._  
  
_Eventually, they will. In time._  
  
_Indeed. What of this soul you recovered?_  
  
_Not unlike the manifest soul of this world. Damaged, or artificial._  
  
_We can work with it?_  
  
_We can._  
  
This soul was observed, almost coddled.  
  
_What is your name?_  
  
SO- MA- A- A- A- A-  
  
_This soul is damaged. It will need time before it will become useful to us._  
  
_What of the protector?_  
  
_The protector may be bypassed with this soul. A remote vessel for our will._  
  
_We must not be too hasty. That is what felled SEELE. And I expect humanity to be more wary of any subjugation._  
  
_That will not be a problem. Even in our diminished state._  
  
They would bide their time for a while longer.  
~~~

  
  
Zero Two looked out from the balcony of her Geofront board, up to the roof. She seemed almost drawn to a point, something faint in her mind.  
  
"Zero Two?"  
  
She gave a glance to her darling, as her train of thought was broken and forgotten about. "It's odd, isn't it? This Geofront."  
  
"Yeah. They did well to make it like the surface."  
  
"Even though you can't see the stars like this."  
  
A chuckle. "If you wanted to see the stars, I'm sure we could ask Misato about moving into those apartments."  
  
"I wouldn't mind that." Smiling. "It'd put us close to our new friends as well, wouldn't it?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
They continued looking out, at the stillness that was the Geofront at this time in the morning.  
  
"Hey, darling? Do you wanna continue reading that book?"  
  
"I'd love to, Zero Two."  
  
She gave her classic toothy smile, as they retired to the room.

* * *

 


End file.
